Remains of the two disappeared in the Brazilian Amazon identified

The remains found on Wednesday in a remote region of the Amazon Brazilian correspond to those of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian indigenista Bruno Pereirawho had been missing since June 5 and were shot to death with a hunting weapon.

The announcement that the recovered remains correspond to those of the two disappeared and that the expert confirmed their death from gunshot wounds was made this Saturday by the Federal Police, which coordinates the investigations into the crime that shocked Brazil and has sparked protests around the world.

LOOK: Crime and impunity in the Yavarí Valley, the place where a journalist and his companion disappeared

According to a statement released by the agency, part of the human remains found on Wednesday were identified as belonging to Araújo Pereira, a specialist in uncontacted indigenous people in the Amazon and who served as a guide to Phillips.

The identification was possible thanks to the dental arch examination carried out by the specialists of the National Criminalist Institute of the Federal Police in Brasilia.

LOOK: Personal belongings of missing British reporter and expert found in Brazil

On Friday the agency had already reported that some of the mortal remains found two days earlier correspond to those of the British journalist, who was a contributor to the English newspaper The Guardian.

His identification was also made possible by “a legal dentistry exam combined with forensic anthropology.”

The Federal Police also reported that the tests established that the indigenist was shot in the head and chest and the journalist in the chest.

The forensic medical examination established that Phillips’ death “was caused by thoracoabdominal trauma from a firearm shot with typical hunting ammunition, with multiple pellets, which caused injuries mainly in the abdominal and thoracic regions (1 shot)”, according to the release.

Araújo Pereira’s, meanwhile, “was caused by thoracoabdominal and cranial trauma from firearm shots with typical hunting ammunition, with multiple pellets, which caused injuries to the thorax/abdomen (2 shots) and face/skull regions ( 1 shot)”.

The difficulty in identification was due to the fact that, as one of the perpetrators of the crime confessed, the two victims were shot to death and dismembered before their remains were cremated and hidden in a place that was difficult to access in the middle of the jungle.

Confirmation of the identification of the remains and the causes of death was announced shortly after the third suspect in the murders turned himself in to authorities and was immediately arrested.

This is a man identified as Jeferson da Silva Lima, known as “Pelado da Dinha” and who is suspected of having been an accomplice of the brothers Amarildo and Oseney da Costa Oliveira, the first of whom is a confessed defendant in the crime.

Da Silva Lima voluntarily appeared early this Saturday at the police station in neighboring Atalaia do Norte.

“According to all the evidence and all the testimonies we have heard so far, he (Da Silva Lima) was at the scene of the crime and actively participated in the double homicide,” said Commissioner Alex Perez Timoteo, of the Atalaia Civil Police. C North.

The Civil Police of Atalaia do Norte and the Federal Police, which are collaborating in the case, are investigating up to five suspects for the crimes of disappearance and double murder, and for the concealment of their bodies.

Phillips and Araújo had been missing since June 5 and had been seen for the last time when they were navigating a river in the Valle do Jaravi region, in a remote area of ​​the Brazilian Amazon bordering Colombia and Peru.

The two brothers arrested for the crime are fishermen and had already been reprimanded by Araújo for fishing in areas under the jurisdiction of indigenous reserves, which is prohibited.

The prisoner who confessed to the crime led the authorities to the place where he buried the bodies of his victims, located about 3 kilometers into the jungle in the river where he intercepted and killed them.

Pereira had received threats on several occasions for his complaints against organizations engaged in drug trafficking, logging, illegal fishing and hunting in the Vale do Javari indigenous reserves.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.