Get you up to speed: Cleaner ‘spiked elderly couple’s drink’ before ‘killing them’ over loan shark debts | News World
A cleaner, Paola Stefany Neto Cirino, was arrested on Thursday in Itabira, Brazil, after allegedly drugging and fatally stabbing elderly couple Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel and Cláudio Atala Inácio in their home in Belo Horizonte. The couple’s bodies were discovered by their son on 1 July, prompting police investigations into the crime and reports of Cirino’s gambling debts.
Paola Stefany Neto Cirino is being investigated on suspicion of robbery-murder following the stabbing deaths of Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel and Cláudio Atala Inácio. Police discovered that she had been recommended to the couple for cleaning duties by a relative, who is not considered a suspect in the investigation.
Paola Stefany Neto Cirino is being investigated on suspicion of robbery-murder following the stabbing deaths of Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel and Cláudio Atala Inácio in Belo Horizonte. Authorities have linked the crime to her alleged gambling debts, reportedly amounting to around £5,752, and recovered belongings belonging to the couple during her arrest.
What remains unclear — The extent of Paola Stefany Neto Cirino’s alleged gambling debts and whether they contributed to the planning of the murders is still under investigation.
Cleaner arrested for allegedly drugging and murdering elderly couple in Brazil
The cleaner allegedly killed the couple on the first day of her job (Picture: Jam Press)
A cleaner allegedly drugged an elderly couple before stabbing them to death so she could pay off suspected gambling debts.
Paola Stefany Neto Cirino, 30, was arrested at a hotel in Itabira, Brazil, where she had fled with her six-year-old son.
She allegedly confessed to putting four tablets into the juice of Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel, 76, and her husband, Cláudio Atala Inácio, 75.
After drugging them, she allegedly stabbed Inácio more than 40 times and Maciel 17 times. Despite being drugged, Inácio reportedly fought back.
Paola, 30, had reportedly been recommended by the couple’s relative to carry out cleaning work at their home in Belo Horizonte.
The day of the murders was her first day working at the flat, after previously working for a family member of the couple for years. Police do not believe the relative was involved.
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The couple were described as being ‘full of life’ (Picture: Jam Press)
CCTV footage showed Paola arriving at the block of flats at 7:30am and leaving eight hours later wearing different clothes, carrying two large bags and sporting Maria’s sunglasses.
She was also caught on camera throwing a bloodstained blouse into a skip on a nearby street.
Before fleeing, Paola reportedly told family members she had ‘done something terribly wrong’.
When she was arrested, police recovered belongings belonging to the couple, along with £2,587 in cash.
Investigators say she obtained the money by selling the victims’ possessions – including watches, jewellery and mobile phones – in central Belo Horizonte.
Paolo had gambling bets amounting to around £5,000 (Picture: Jam Press)
The couple’s bodies were found by their son on Tuesday after he learned his father had failed to turn up for work.
When he entered the flat, he found his parents dead with stab wounds to various parts of their bodies, including the back, throat, neck, abdomen, chin and chest, as well as defensive injuries.
Police are investigating claims that Paola had accumulated gambling debts of around £5,752, allegedly owing money to a loan shark after betting online, including on the popular game Fortune Tiger.
Maciel owned a shop in Belo Horizonte and had been a successful athlete for many years.
Inácio was a founding partner of a law firm in the city and, despite his age, still worked there every day.
The couple, described by relatives as ‘full of life’, had travelled extensively and had recently returned from a trip to the US.
Paola is being investigated on suspicion of robbery-murder.
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