Chilling video footage revealed a psychologist’s last moment alive before she was found dead in her home in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte on Tuesday evening.
Fabiana Veras, 42, was allegedly gagged, tied up and stabbed by João Carvalho, 41, who was allegedly seeking information about his ex-girlfriend because she was dating another man.
The surveillance camera showed Carvalho wearing a headscarf, glasses and a surgical mask as he walked to Vera’s home in the city of Assú in Rio Grande do Norte, where she also operated her clinic.
Veras welcomed Carvalho into the house and chatted with him in the garage for almost a minute and a half.
They later entered the living room and walked into a bedroom, where Veras was stabbed multiple times in her hands and body.
Brazilian psychologist Fabiana Veras talks to João Carvalho after welcoming him to her home on Tuesday in Assú, a hotspot in the northeastern part of Rio Grande do Norte. Veras was found gagged with multiple stab wounds. Carvalho was arrested 230 kilometers away at his apartment in Natal on Wednesday
Police said Fabiana Veras was killed by João Carvalho, who was looking for information about his ex-girlfriend, who was a close friend of the victim
João Carvalho was arrested for allegedly killing Fabiana Veras, a psychologist who was a close friend of his ex-girlfriend
Rio Grande do Norte Civil Police investigators discovered that Carvalho washed off the blood in the sink and then waited for a vehicle to arrive. He returned to the house to retrieve a bag he had left behind and Vera’s phone, then fled.
Carvalho was surprised by police on Wednesday as he approached a parking lot near his home, 230 kilometers away in Natal, the state capital. Authorities seized three knives, two brass knuckles and a gun stained with blood.
Authorities said Carvalho, an employee of the Rio Grande do Norte justice system, paid a taxi driver about $100 to take him to Vera’s home. He was interrogated and released.
“Everything indicates that his intention was to look for this mobile phone, which he brought to Natal and destroyed, to find out its contents, to find out what kind of relationship he had with his ex-partner,” says the head of the homicide department, Márcio Lemos, told Brazilian news channel G1.
Carvalho was interviewed by local outlet Assú Todo Dia and claimed he heard the devil’s voice before killing Veras.
‘He threatens… He threatens my mother, who is the weakest. She is suffering from heart problems,” he said.
According to the Regional Psychology Council of the 17th Region, Veras specialized in inpatient and hospital care.
She provided psychological services to teenagers and adults in the clinic in Natal and Mossoró and also online.
“This is not just a job, I live psychology to help other lives,” she said on one of her social media accounts.
Veras enjoyed the outdoors, often sharing photos of mountain climbing and participating in bodybuilding events.
Brazilian psychologist Fabiana Veras, who was found dead in her home on Tuesday, often shared her love of nature and the outdoors on social media
Fabiana Veras followed a strict training regimen and competed in bodybuilding events
Rio Grande do Norte’s civil police said the suspect took Fabiana Vera’s cell phone after killing her and “destroyed it, in order to obtain its contents, to find out what kind of relationship he had with his ex-partner ‘.
“Physical activity doesn’t just change your body,” she once said in an Instagram post. ‘It changes your mind, your attitude, your mood and even your lifestyle.
“Top sport doesn’t just cause physical, emotional and mental changes,” she added. ‘It makes you vibrate in other norms: the norm of self-challenge, self-knowledge and breaking through boundaries. You are entering into a duel with yourself.’
Veras’s murder stunned the Assú community. She was buried Thursday morning.
“She was a well-liked person in the city because she served our city for many years. A very loved person, a very good professional,” Dilma Peixoto, a former colleague, told G1.
“The whole town was shocked, even people who weren’t friends, who didn’t know her personally… We’re just sorry and hope that justice is done.”
