A Brazilian soccer star already jailed for assaulting and abducting his former lover will face trial charged with killing her and feeding parts of her dismembered body to his pet dogs.
Bruno Fernandes de Souza, 27, a goalkeeper once a prospect to play for Brazil, allegedly turned model Eliza Samudio “into a human sacrifice” to preserve his reputation after she gave birth to his love child, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported.
He is already serving a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for assaulting and abducting Ms Samudio, 25.
Prosecutors say Bruno planned the murder after Ms Samudio said she would take legal action to prove he was the father of her child, the Daily Mail reported.
Detective Edson Moreira told the Sunday Express: “We have witnesses who will testify that he turned this girl into a human sacrifice merely to try to protect his reputation.”
Parts of her body are alleged to have been fed to Bruno’s dogs.
Prosecutors claim Bruno planned the kidnap and murder with eight others, including his wife Dayane, a teenage cousin and former detective Luiz Santos, all of whom have been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping and forming a criminal gang with intent to murder.
In a statement to police, his cousin claimed that, led by Santos, they kidnapped Ms Samudio from a hotel in Rio de Janeiro.
She was allegedly driven to a secluded property where she was tortured and killed.
Bruno, whose contract with Flamengo has been suspended, has maintained his innocence.