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It could have been a scene straight out of a Hollywood horror movie, but as it turns out, this incident in Brazil really happened, and it has left everyone shell shocked!
A woman, Érika de Souza Vieira, was apprehended under suspicion of attempting to withdraw a loan using her aged uncle – the only catch, her uncle was very, very dead.
The incident, captured in a video that went viral on social media, has sparked widespread discussion across the nation.
Bizarre encounter at bank
The footage depicts the woman at a Rio de Janeiro branch of Itau Bank, supporting the head of an elderly man in a wheelchair while trying to get him to sign with a pen.
She claimed the man was her uncle and needed his signature for a loan worth $3,000, already approved by the bank.
Signs of deception
However, the elderly man, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga, remained unresponsive in the video, with limp arms and a falling head, leading to suspicions that he was already deceased during the visit to the bank.
The woman’s pleas and attempts to get the man to sign were met with no response.
In the video, the woman can be seen saying, “Uncle, are you listening?”
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“You need to sign. If you don’t sign, there’s no way. I can’t sign for you, it has to be you. What I can do, I do,” she said.
“Sign it so you don’t give me any more headaches, having to go to the registry office. I can’t take it anymore,” the woman was heard saying.
Escalation & medical intervention
Bank attendants became concerned about the man’s condition, prompting them to call for an ambulance. Paramedics arrived and determined that the man had likely been dead for several hours, casting doubt on the woman’s claims.
Conflicting accounts & legal response
While police investigate the case and work to establish the relationship between the woman and the deceased man, the family’s lawyer disputes the official account. They argue that the man arrived at the bank alive and that the woman is deeply affected by the situation.
A report in CNN Brasil said the family’s lawyer disputed the account offered by police, saying: “… the facts did not happen as stated; that the man has arrived at the bank alive; and that the woman is completely shaken and medicated.”
However, according to a report in The Guardian, investigating officer Fabio Luiz Souza said the woman knew her uncle was dead and that “he had been dead for at least two hours.”
“I have never come across a story like this in 22 years [as a cop],” said Souza, adding that visible signs of livor mortis left no doubt as to Braga’s state.
Investigation underway
Authorities have not yet pressed charges in the matter, but they continue to look into the circumstances surrounding the troubling incident.
With inputs from agencies