The ex-boyfriend of former mining executive from Brazil, Cecilia Haddad, was arrested Saturday in Rio De Janeiro over his alleged role in her murder.
Mario Santoro, 40, was watching the soccer World Cup in his sister’s upmarket Rio de Janeiro apartment when he was arrested by homicide investigators.
Brazil police said that he did not resist arrest and told them, “I ended my life.”
The officers who arrested him said that “he did not behave like an innocent man,” The Australian reported.
Haddad’s body was found in the Lane Cover River near the Sydney suburb of Woolwich on April 29.
Santoro’s arrest coincides with Brazil police reports that Haddad died as a result of being strangled. According to the forensic investigators there, it was “possible to evidence the death of the victim by mechanical asphyxia by constriction of the neck,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
It is uncertain whether the matter will be dealt with by the justice system of Australia or Brazil.
A warrant was issued for Santoro’s arrest by New South Wales (NSW) police last month, meaning that he would face the charge of murder if he was in Australia. It remains to be seen, however, if Brazilian authorities will send Santoro back to Australia to be charged.
While a formal extradition treaty is in place between Australia and Brazil. There is no proviso for the extradition of Brazilian citizens to Australia.
The Brazilian Constitution prohibits the extradition of Brazilian citizens, even in the case of alleged or proven crimes committed in other countries.
However, the warrant in NSW allows for the negotiation between Australian and Brazilian authorities in bringing justice to Santoro for his alleged crime. If he is convicted in Brazil, he could face up to 15 years imprisonment.
From The Epoch Times
