A Brazilian woman who was arrested after wheeling her dead uncle into a bank to take out a loan in his name has finally broken her silence. According to Dailystar, Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes broke down in tears and claimed that she didn’t know her uncle was dead, in her first interview since leaving prison.
In an interview with Brazilian media, she said, ”The days away from my family have been horrible, very difficult. I didn’t realise my uncle was dead. It’s absurd what people are saying. I’m not that person people are talking about, I’m not that monster.”
”I don’t know if it was the effect of the pills I had taken that day and I took from time to time. As I’m undergoing treatment I was taking a sleeping pill called Zolpidem and took more than I should have,” she added. She further claimed that her uncle told her to hold his head up before they went into the bank.
Last month, a security camera in a Rio de Janeiro bank captured her wheeling a dead man into the branch. CNN Brazil reported that Nunes allegedly attempted to use her uncle Paulo Roberto Braga’s identity to finalize loan documents, raising questions about her desperate attempt.
“Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign,” she said, according to the security video, suggesting she sign for him. When a bank worker said he looked pale, she dismissed his concerns.
“He doesn’t say anything, that’s just how he is,” she said, adding, “If you’re not okay, I’m going to take you to the hospital.”
However, the bank staff became suspicious as the man’s head kept falling back when the woman stopped holding it. They called the police, who arrested her on the spot on fraud charges. Parademics soon confirmed Mr Braga had died before he was wheeled into the bank.
”She knew this fact, as he is with his head down and without any movement, however, right before entering, she holds him by the neck so that he has his head up, simulating a person alive,” Civil Police Chief Fabio Souza said in a report filed with the State Public Ministry.
De Souza was released from custody on bail last Thursday and has denied all charges against her. She is currently being investigated for manslaughter and attempted theft through fraud.
A trial date has not been set.
