A mother-of-three has died after being shot in the head by her estranged husband, a former mayor, while the pair were at a law office in Brazil to sign their divorce papers, in an apparent murder-suicide.
Icicléia Alves Veloso, 41, was shot on Wednesday at a law office in Ourilândia do Norte, southeastern Pará, where she and her estranged husband Romildo Veloso e Silva, 69, had gone to formalise their separation after three months apart. Silva, a surgeon, councillor and former mayor of Ourilândia do Norte, was found dead in the office’s bathroom shortly afterwards.
Staff at the office told police that Silva had asked the couple’s lawyer to leave the room so he could speak with Icicléia privately. Shortly after the lawyer stepped out, gunshots were heard. When police arrived, they found Icicléia in a chair with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, still showing signs of life, while Silva was found dead in the bathroom with a head wound and a revolver beside his body. Police believe Silva shot Icicléia in revenge for the breakdown of their marriage before turning the gun on himself.
Icicléia was given first aid at the scene and taken to a local hospital before being transferred to another facility. Her condition worsened overnight, and she remained in a deep coma until Thursday afternoon, when she was pronounced dead from a traumatic brain injury. She was buried in Ourilândia do Norte on Friday and is survived by her three sons. Silva’s wake took place on Thursday. An investigation into both deaths remains ongoing.
The case follows a separate shooting in Brazil last month in which a bride, Najylla Duenas Nascimento, 34, was killed on her wedding day. Police said her partner, Daniel Barbosa Marinho, 55, opened fire at the reception in Campinas, São Paulo, after the pair had become embroiled in a serious argument and physical altercation following their wedding earlier that day. Marinho reportedly shot Najylla, fled the venue, then returned and shot her again. Terrified relatives managed to remove children from the scene before the violence escalated further. Marinho, a local law enforcement officer, was arrested shortly afterwards and is being held on suspicion of femicide. Najylla, also a mother of three from a previous relationship, was among the victims police have highlighted in a string of recent domestic violence killings across the country.
