RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The search for Lázaro Barbosa Sousa, 33 years old, suspected of killing a family in Ceilândia Norte and terrorizing residents in the Federal District and surrounding area, lasted into the early hours of Monday.
It has been 6 days on the run, after Lázaro was almost arrested on the BR-070 highway, near the city of Edilândia (GO), 82 km from Brasília. On Sunday afternoon, June 13, the fugitive stole a car in a farm in Cocalzinho (GO) and abandoned the vehicle, a red Corsa, after spotting a police roadblock.
Lazáro broke into the property around 3 PM. In the early evening, the property owner visited the base set up by the security forces, in an interchange near the city of Cocalzinho, and reported the situation. He said that when he came home he found his car missing, a red Corsa, and that his house had been ransacked. At around 6:30 PM, Lazáro abandoned the vehicle on the highway, some 30 km from the young man’s farm. Inside the car, a magazine of ammunition was found. Police officers launched a thorough search through the woods, using sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters.
Lázaro is accused of killing 4 people, shooting 3, breaking into farms, taking hostages and setting fire to a house – the attack occurred on Saturday night. At around 8 AM yesterday, three farm workers told police that they came across the criminal. With machetes and scythes, they were closing the gate of a farm, in Cocalzinho, when they came face to face with the suspect, who fled.
Read follow up story on this: Shooting registered in woods as searches for Brazil’s Ceilândia slayer continue
According to the workers, the man ran into a dense forest nearby. To bolster the search for the suspect, over 200 police officers and 50 vehicles from the Federal District and Goiás joined forces and set up a base at the Cocalzinho interchange. The group includes units from the Federal District Civil Police (PCDF), the State Police (PMDF), the Federal Highway Police (PRF) and the Federal Police (PF).
In a statement, the Goiás Public Safety Secretariat (SSP/GO) said that the task force was set up as soon as it was notified of the occurrence in the surrounding region. According to the body, the Public Safety secretaries of Goiás, Rodney Miranda, and of the Federal District, Julio Danilo, are coordinating the efforts.
Violence
The PMDF detailed Lázaro’s trail of violence, the day before yesterday. The suspect broke into the family farm of a soldier of the corporation. According to reports, Lázaro spent the afternoon in a farm near Lagoa Samuel, where he held a caretaker hostage. The report found the caretaker’s mother outside the Jair Paiva Municipal Hospital. “He tied my son up, forced him to cook and smoke marijuana,” said the woman, who chose not to disclose her name.
Lázaro would have also drunk alcohol, destroyed the young man’s car, and cut the Wi-Fi cables. Shortly thereafter, at around 7 PM, the suspect broke into another residence, shot 3 people, stole 2 guns and ammunition. The crimes didn’t stop there. At 11:30 PM, as the report was leaving Cocalzinho, police were called to a fire at a residence in the area. The victim said that Lázaro had set fire to the house.
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To search for Lázaro, the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) police officers are wearing a special camouflaged uniform to penetrate the woods looking for the fugitive. According to PMDF, 17 farms in the region are under police surveillance to ensure the safety of the population. According to the corporation, the teams are deployed at strategic points, and searches are underway on properties and in the woods with the help of drones and sniffer dogs.
Lázaro is accused of killing Cláudio Vidal de Oliveira, 48, Gustavo Marques Vidal, 21, and Carlos Eduardo Marques Vidal, 15. He also kidnapped Cleonice Marques de Andrade, 43, Cláudio’s wife and the mother of the other victims. Her body was found the day before yesterday in a wooded area. The body was unclothed and with several cuts, in a wooded area near the BR-070 highway.
Crime trail
Wednesday (June 9)
Lázaro Barbosa Sousa, 33, broke into a house at Incra 9, in Ceilândia Norte, at around 2 AM. He forced the door open and in less than 10 minutes killed Cláudio Vidal, 48, and his two sons, Gustavo Marques Vidal, 21, and Carlos Eduardo Marques Vidal, 15. As he escaped, he took with him entrepreneur Cleonice Marques, 43 years old. Minutes before the criminal broke in, the woman called her brother for help. The brother quickly reached the house, but found the bodies in the bedroom and Cleonice was nowhere to be seen. Though in agony, Cláudio manages to alert his brother-in-law to the kidnapping.
Thursday (June 10)
During the morning, the armed man would have also broken into a home 3km away from the farm where he committed the triple homicide. Silvia Campos, 40, owner of the farm, and the caretaker, identified as Anderson, 18, were held at gunpoint by the criminal for over 3 hours. At the scene, he forced the captives to smoke marijuana. The suspect left the house taking over R$200 (US$40), a jacket, cell phones, and a phone charger. The search for Cleonice began the second day.
Friday (June 11)
The fugitive took another hostage (the third since his escape), stole a Fiat Palio vehicle in Ceilândia, and drove to the city of Cocalzinho (GO) where, hours later, he set the vehicle on fire. There he would have been helped by a partner, according to the investigations. Cleonice Marques was still missing.
Saturday (June 12)
Police found Cleonice Marques’ body in a stream near Sol Nascente. Lázaro Barbosa Sousa spent the afternoon drinking in a farm near Lagoa Samuel, where he held a caretaker hostage, forced him to smoke marijuana, and then destroyed the man’s car. Hours later, he broke into a farm, shot 3 men and stole 2 firearms. At the end of the evening, he set fire to a house in Cocalzinho (GO), exchanged shots with the police, but managed to escape.