Former military officer Ronnie Lessa, accused of murdering Brazilian councillor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, confessed that he carried out the murder in exchange for leading a new militia in Rio de Janeiro.
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In a video published by Fantástico de la TV Globo, Lessa detailed that Domingos Brazão, former adviser to the Rio Court of Auditors, and his brother, the federal deputy Chiquinho Brazão had offered him a clandestine subdivision in the west of the city valued in millions of reals.
The defendant claimed that the brothers promised him that he would be one of the owners of a criminal enterprise and that they met three times to discuss the matter.
The defense of the Brazao brothers stressed that there are no elements that support Lessa’s words and accused him of inventing the facts to benefit.
The text reads,
In a statement to the STF, Ronnie Lessa confesses to being the murderer of Marielle Franco, attracted by the promise of leading a militia in Rio.
On the other hand, the Brazilian Prosecutor’s Office denounced a few days ago the Brazao and Rivaldo Barbosa, former head of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, as the masterminds behind the murder.
The evidence found so far shows that the councilwoman was harming the shady businesses of those involved, then in 2017 voted against a bill launched by the then alderman Chiquinho to regularize illegal construction in the west.
On 14 March 2018, Marielle Franco was intercepted on her way home, after a debate with young people, her car was shot by a high-precision HK MP5 submachine gun used only by elite police forces.