Two broadcaster murders were included in the Tim Lopes Program in 2018 and have since been investigated by the Abraji team.

The pieces produced have been published by the network of partner vehicles to shed light on the cases and not let them go unpunished.

Jairo de Sousa case, in Braganca

Radio broadcaster Jairo de Sousa was killed as he climbed the staircase that gives access to Radio Perola FM, on June 21, 2018, at around 4.50 am. The crime happened in the city of Braganca, state of Para, when Sousa arrived at work to present his morning show “Show da Perola” that aired from 5 am to 9 am. He was killed with two shots after going through a gate and up some stairs. According to the police investigation, the crime was ordered by an extermination group and would have cost 30,000 reais. Eleven people were denounced by the Public Prosecutors’ Office, among them councilman Cesar Monteiro Gonçalves, accused of being the mastermind of the crime. A few months later, the councilman was granted a habeas corpus and will answer for the claim out of jail.

Jefferson Pureza case, in Edealina

Broadcaster Jefferson Pureza was killed on the evening of January 17, 2018, with three shots to the face, while resting on his home’s porch. The crime occurred in the city of Edealina, in the state of Goias. According to the depositions, the crime was negotiated for 5,000 reais and a 38 revolver. The six accused of involvement in the crime remain in prison. Three minors comply with socio-educational measures: one would be the sniper, the other would have driven the motorcycle, and the third indicated both for the service. Councilman José Eduardo Alves da Silva – accused of ordering the killing –, Marcelo Rodrigues dos Santos, and Leandro Cintra da Silva were indicted by Judge Aluizio Martins Pereira de Souza, of the district of Jandaia, at the end of December 2018. According to the law, this inclusion means that the case has to be tried by a jury court.

Leo Veras case, in Pedro Juan Caballero

The journalist Lourenço (Leo) Veras was killed on the night of February 12, 2020, with 12 shots, when he was in the living room with his family. The crime occurred in the Paraguayan municipality of Pedro Juan Caballero, which borders the Brazilian city of Ponta Pora, in the south of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Veras reported on the drug trafficking dispute on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, and had already received death threats. The crime is still being investigated by the Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Paraguayan police. It is known that the pistol that killed the journalist was used in seven executions related to the Sao Paulo crime organization PCC. Police officers involved in the investigation point out as one of the reasons for the crime the identification of the main head of the PCC at the border, known as Salinas Ryguaçu. Rumor has it that Veras was responsible for telling the authorities the identity of the drug trafficker, which then led Salinas to give the order to execute the journalist.