User:Paris1127/Murder of Tânia Araújo

The murder of Taninha was a crime committed by Neyde Maria Maia Lopes (born February 3, 1937) in 1960 that shocked Rio de Janeiro. Taninha, real name Tânia Maria Coelho Araújo, was the four-year-old daughter of Antônio Couto Araújo, with whom Lopes was having an affair. Lopes kidnapped her from her school on 30 June 1960, shooting her later that night and burning the body.

Background
Neyde Maria Maia Lopes is said to have met Antônio Couto Araújo at Central do Brasil railway station near the end of 1959. The two began an affair, and Antônio eventually revealed the existence of his marriage and two daughters, Solange and Tânia, to Lopes. Antônio, however, refused to leave his family for Neyde. In a bid for revenge, Neyde got close to Antônio's wife, Nilza, and one of their daughters, Tânia (known as Taninha, little Tânia in Portuguese). Gaining Nilza's trust, Neyde plotted to kidnap Tânia for revenge on Antônio.

Murder
Early on the afternoon of 30 June 1960, Neyde went to Instituo Joemar, Tânia's school, and, posing as a woman named Odete (who Neyde had pretended to be in an earlier phone call to arrange an early pick up of Tânia), succeeded in checking Tânia out of school early. When Nilza arrived at 2 PM to drop off lunch for Tânia, she learned that her daughter had been taken out of school by a woman named Odete; Nilza promptly informed the police.

Neyde had discovered that a slaughterhouse in the Penha section of Rio de Janeiro disposed of its carcasses in back---and had noted the presence of vultures. At 8 PM that night, Neyde took Tânia to the area behind the slaughterhouse and shot her with a .32 calibre pistol, killing her instantly. Neyde then doused Tânia's body in a flammable liquid and set her ablaze before leaving the scene. At 11, a slaughterhouse employee riding his horse through the area stumbled upon the burning body, and reported it to the police.

The police, while investigating the kidnapping of Tânia, had learned from Antônio about his 6-month affair with Neyde, and on 1 July she was detained for questioning, though she denied any involvement to both the police and the press. However, when confronted with the discovery of Tânia's body, she confessed to journalist Saulo Gomes, noting that she didn't kill the whole family because she "didn't have time".

Detained at the 24th Delegation of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police in the Encantado section of the city, Neyde needed to quickly be moved to police headquarters due to a lynch mob that formed outside, full of people calling her fera da Penha, the "Beast of Penha". After a few days detained at headquarters, she was moved to Penitenciária Lemos Brito in Bangu.

Trial
Neyde Maria Maia Lopes went on trial on 4 October 1960 in Rio de Janeiro on charges of kidnapping and murdering Tânia Maria Coelho Araújo. After 16 hours of deliberation, on 5 October the jury convicted her of kidnapping (unanimously) and murder (6 guilty, 1 not guilty). Judge Bandeira Stampa sentenced her to 33 years in prison: 30 for the murder and 3 for the kidnapping. Because the sentence exceeded 20 years, Lopes was able to request a second trial, which occurred on 20 and 21 April 1964 but confirmed the verdicts of the first. Her sentence, however, would not be confirmed until 1966.

Aftermath
Neyde served 15 years of her 21 year sentence (which had been reduced from 33 by pardon) and was released from prison on 9 October 1975. She moved back in with her parents, living with them until their deaths. Today she is a recluse living in Rio de Janeiro.

Tânia's parents, Antônio and Nilza, remained together after Tânia's murder, and had another two daughters. Nilza forgave Antônio.

Tânia is buried in the Inhaúma cemetery, where her tomb is a site of religious pilgrimage by faithful of numerous religions who believe she can grant miracles.