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Tuesday, 18 August 2026dailybeirut.com
Football
Bruno Fernandes, who murdered his model ex-girlfriend, is back in prison after violating parole to play in a football cup.
Two months on the run ended in a police raid for a former top-flight Brazilian goalkeeper convicted of murdering his model ex-girlfriend and feeding parts of her body to dogs. Bruno Fernandes das Dores de Souza, known as Bruno, was arrested late on May 7 in a house in Sao Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro state, after failing to comply with parole conditions.
Bruno had been granted conditional release in 2023 under court-imposed restrictions. But on February 15, he traveled to Acre in northern Brazil without judicial authorization to play for Vasco-AC in the Copa do Brasil, a move that violated a ban on leaving Rio de Janeiro state. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 5 after the Criminal Enforcement Court ruled he had disobeyed the terms of his release.
Instead of surrendering, Bruno remained at large for roughly two months. Police located him in the Porto da Aldeia neighborhood. He reportedly did not resist arrest and cooperated throughout the operation, which Brazilian media described as a joint intelligence effort involving police in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
Bruno was convicted in 2013 of homicide, kidnapping, unlawful detention, and concealment of a body for the 2010 murder of Eliza Samudio. The model and actress had demanded that the former Flamengo goalkeeper recognize paternity of their son, Bruninho, who was only four months old at the time. Prosecutors said Eliza was strangled, dismembered, and parts of her body fed to dogs, with the remainder allegedly buried under concrete. Her body has never been found.
Bruno handed himself in nearly a month after Eliza disappeared but denied involvement. However, investigators said a teenage cousin testified that Bruno admitted taking part in the kidnapping and killing. The case sparked outrage across Brazil and internationally because Bruno had been one of the country's best-known footballers at the time.
Sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, Bruno was released in February 2017 after serving just over six years behind bars since his initial arrest, following a legal battle over an appeal. He then signed a two-year contract with second-division club Boa Esporte, sparking widespread fury. That decision was overturned in April 2017, sending him back to a closed prison regime. He remained there until 2019, when he progressed to a semi-open regime, and was granted conditional release in 2023.
Prosecutors also argued that Bruno had failed to update his address for three years, broken curfew rules, attended prohibited places including a football match at the Maracana, and made other unauthorized trips. After his arrest, he was first taken to the 125th Police Station in Sao Pedro da Aldeia, then transferred to the 127th Police Station in Buzios, and later to the Jose Frederico Marques prison in Benfica, north of Rio de Janeiro, on May 8.
Eliza's mother, Sonia Fatima Moura, said after the arrest that the new imprisonment would not bring back her daughter's body. She told Brazilian media: “I regret it because he did not need to be going through this. If he had complied with all the measures, he would not need to live through this moment. I leave a message to other people: do not give up on justice. It may take time, but justice exists.”
Sonia added: “Now it is for justice to do its part. I still believe in the judiciary. The new arrest will not bring back my daughter’s body. The best thing would be if I had my daughter’s body. My daughter was discarded like rubbish.”
