Rio Councillor Subpoenaed in Marielle Franco Murder Investigation

By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Wednesday, June 13th, authorities investigating the Marielle Franco assasination subpoenaed Domingos Brazão, a councilor from the State Audit Court of Rio de Janeiro (Tribunal de Contas do Estado or TCE), to testify regarding his relationship with the key witness in the case.

According to reports, the case’s key witness has told investigators that the March 14th execution-style murders of Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, was the result of an orchestrated plot between Orlando Araújo, the head of a militia in Rio’s Zone Oueste (West Zone), and Rio councilor Marcelo Siciliano.

Investigators served Brazão at his home in Barra da Tijuca at about 12:30 PM Wednesday afternoon.

“Let’s get Brazão because it will get media attention,” exclaimed an angry Brazão to reporters afterwards. “This is not what Marielle’s family deserves, nor do my children deserve it.”

He added, “[T]he investigators could have just talked to my lawyer, who had left his card with them when he was at the police station. I’m at their disposal, I did not need this whole spotlight.”

In an interview with Globo news on Wednesday, the lead prosecutor in the case, Homero Freitas Filho, called the Marielle Franco investigation one of the most difficult cases he had ever seen, even more challenging than the 2011 investigation into the murder of Judge Patrícia Acioli.

“I have been working with the Homicide Division for seventeen years, and know well the investigation that culminated in the arrest of the perpetrators of the murder of Judge Patrícia Acioli,” Filho said.

Adding, “I can say that Marielle’s murder is undoubtedly the more complicated crime. The lack of information and the conclusion about the real motivation of the crime are the main difficulties.”

Despite the challenges in the investigation, Filho is confident that eventually Franco’s murderers will be apprehended. “I do not believe in the existence of the perfect crime, it may take a while, but the perpetrators will not go unpunished.”

On March 14th, councilwoman Franco, along with her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, were fatally shot in Franco’s car while returning home from an event in Rio’s Centro neighborhood.