"He died giving his life for another," says the widow of a street vendor beaten in the subway.
The widow of street vendor Luiz Carlos Ruas, Maria Souza Santos, appeared at the Metropolitan Police Station (Delpom); suspected of committing the murder, Ricardo Martins do Nascimento, 21, was arrested and 14 witnesses, including two transvestites and a subway ticket office employee, were summoned to make the identification; "It was a total shock. He was wonderful, so much so that he died giving his life for another," said the widow; the other suspect in the crime, Ricardo's cousin, Alípio Rogério Belo dos Santos, 26, was captured in the early afternoon of this Wednesday (28)
Fernanda Cruz, reporter for Agência Brasil - The widow of street vendor Luiz Carlos Ruas, Maria Souza Santos, appeared today (28) at the Metropolitan Police Station (Delpom). The suspect in the murder, Ricardo Martins do Nascimento, 21, was arrested and 14 witnesses, including two transvestites and a metro ticket office employee, were summoned to make the identification.
"It was a complete shock. He was wonderful, so much so that he died giving his life for another," said the widow.
"I want him [Ricardo] to pay for what he did. He has a family grieving, he left me alone in the world. He [Ruas] didn't deserve to die the way he did, his face was all smashed up, I didn't have the courage to look," she lamented. "I want to ask the guy [Ricardo] why he did this to such a good person," she said.
The victim's sister, Maria de Fátima Ruas, said that her brother was working on Christmas Sunday (25) to pay the car tax, which was being held. "I can't take it anymore, I can't bear the pain, my heart is bleeding. We will get justice," she said.
Earlier, Ricardo lamented what happened and said that if he could, he would do something to help the street vendor's widow. "I'm not a bad person," he said. The accused was arrested at 21 pm yesterday (27) at a friend's house in a favela in the municipality of Itupeva, in the Campinas region.
The other suspect in the crime, Ricardo's cousin, Alípio Rogério Belo dos Santos, 26, was captured this Wednesday (28). "We have teams on the streets and we will not stop, because this has outraged all the police officers. He [the vendor] was a humble person, who went to defend the transvestites, to show solidarity, and ended up being trampled, killed by these two cowards," said Osvaldo Nico, director of the Department of Captures and Specialized Police Stations.
Ricardo said the confusion started after his cousin was hit on the head with a bottle.
"I don't believe it, they're trying to reverse it, but the images are clear, the cowardice they committed," said Nico. "He's telling a story that, to me, isn't convincing."
Crime
Luiz Carlos Ruas was beaten and killed at 22:25 pm on Sunday, Christmas Eve. According to witnesses, the street vendor was selling snacks and soft drinks outside the station when two men had a disagreement with him and began to assault him. The vendor was defending homeless people, including two transvestites, who were also attacked by the two suspects.
The vendor tried to run to the ticket booth at the Pedro II metro station, but was struck several times and fell to the ground. He was rescued and taken to a hospital by metro security agents, but did not survive his injuries.