Brazilian police have identified five more suspects in connection with the murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian activist Bruno Araújo Pereira, whose bodies were found Wednesday in a remote part of the Amazon.
The Federal Police, which is coordinating the investigations, said in a statement released Sunday that it was investigating eight suspects, three of whom are already in custody, including one who has confessed to the crime and led authorities to the location where the bodies were found.
Arrested third suspect in the murder of Dom Phillips and Bruno Araújo
Brazilian authorities revealed Friday that they believe the three suspects already in custody, Jeferson da Silva Lima, known as “Pelado da Dinha,” and brothers Amarildo and Oseney da Costa Oliveira, “acted alone” in the double homicide.
Confirmed death of British journalist disappeared in the Amazon
On Sunday, police said the other five suspects were being investigated for allegedly helping to hide the bodies, which were buried in the jungle about three kilometers from the river where the victims’ boat was intercepted.
The five new suspects will be able to answer for the crime of concealment of the bodywhich would allow them to await trial in freedom.
The Federal Police added in the statement that the investigation continues to try to clarify all the circumstances of the crime.
Wednesday night, Authorities found human remains in a remote part of the Amazonwhich were later confirmed as belonging to the British journalist and the Brazilian activist.
Phillips and Araújo disappeared on June 5 while sailing down a river in Vale do Javari, a jungle region near Brazil’s borders with Peru and Colombia, where they had traveled to collect material for a book the journalist was working on about the threats that faced by indigenous people in the region.
British Guardian journalist and Funai employee are missing in the Brazilian Amazon
Dom Phillips was a journalist based in Brazil for 15 years, where he collaborated with several international media outlets, such as the Financial Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among others.
Source: Observadora
