Brazilian actor Jefferson Machado, 44, had been missing since Jan. 27 and was found dead this Monday (May 22) in a wooden trunk, buried on a piece of land, in Campo Alegre, in Rio de Janeiro’s western zone.
An investigation is underway to determine the perpetrators of the crime and under what circumstances the actor died.
Four months after he was reported missing, authorities found the actor’s body, which was in a suitcase, buried six feet deep, in the grounds of a house in Campo Alegre, according to the G1 website.
According to police, Jefferson’s body was tied up and in a fetal position in the trunk. Identification of the body was only possible through the analysis of the actor’s fingerprints, Globo said. The briefcase belonged to Jefferson Machado himself.
A friend of the actor who was part of Record’s soap opera “Reis” reported on the death of Jefferson Machado on social networks. “He was coldly and brutally murdered by envious, malicious and of course unscrupulous people,” Cintia Hilsendeger wrote on Jefferson Machado’s Instagram account.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jeff Machado (@jeffmachadocosta)
The actor was reported missing in late January after his neighbors in Rio de Janeiro’s western zone alerted an NGO that Jefferson Machado’s eight dogs were abandoned and in poor condition. At that time, the family was notified.
During the time he was missing, the family received messages from someone posing as the actor, according to G1.
An alleged friend of the actor is being investigated
It was the actor’s mother who contacted the police in January to report her son missing. The mother cited changes in the way her son communicated, who she said used unusual language in the messages he sent him.
Jairo Magalhães, the family’s lawyer, told Diário do Nordeste that police are pointing to strangulation as a possible cause of death.
“The body was found on Monday in a house in Campo Grande. Since yesterday, at the end of the day, the investigation of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro has confirmed that it is his body. The family has already notified “, he told the actor’s family representative.
In an interview with Record’s R7 portal, the lawyer indicated that the tenant of the house where Jefferson Machado’s body was found is under investigation.
Jairo Magalhães also said that the man was a friend of the actor and that the two had entered that house a month before the disappearance. The lawyer added that the owner of the home gave evidence to authorities without having had any contact with the victim.
Source: DN
