Brazil arrests made in Bahia and Minas Gerais over elderly robbery murders

Police in the Bahia municipality of Santa Rita de Cássia arrested a 35‑year‑old man and two women, aged 42 and 23, on suspicion of participating in the latrocínio (robbery‑homicide) of 64‑year‑old Vivaldina de Jesus Bonfim. The arrests followed the capture of a 26‑year‑old primary suspect on 20 June and were carried out by the local territorial police with support from the regional intelligence unit.

In Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, investigators detained 30‑year‑old Paola Stefany Neto Cirino after she was identified as a suspect in the murder of an elderly couple, Claudio Atala Inácio (75) and Maria Clotilde Maciel Atala Inácio (76). The case, also classified as latrocínio, involved multiple stab wounds and the theft of belongings. Authorities continue to probe possible accomplices and the mental‑health defenses raised by the suspect’s legal team.