Prime suspect in brutal murder case turns himself in

THE primary suspect in the investigation into the recent grisly murder of a family in Guadalajara has turned himself into police in Brazil and arrived in Spain on Wednesday, October 19.

19-year-old Francois Patrick Nogueira Gouveira is wanted in connection with the gruesome murder of his aunt and uncle plus their two young children, whose dismembered bodies were found in plastic rubbish bags at their rented home in Pioz on September 18.

The horrific discovery came after neighbours alerted police to a “terrible stench” emanating from the property.

The Guardia Civil later said that they had “a lot of reasonable evidence and clear proof” that the young man was responsible for the deaths of Marcos Campos Nogueira and his wife Janaina Santos Americo, who were both 30, and their one- and four-year-old sons.

Jobless Nogueira Gouveira lived with the family in Torrejon de Ardoz near Madrid for four months before they moved to Pioz.

Investigators initially suspected that the victims were involved in a drug deal which went wrong, but DNA and fingerprint evidence implicated the young man, and there were no signs of forced entry to the house.

Mobile phone records also place the suspect at the scene on August 17, the last day that his uncle was seen alive, while CCTV footage shows a young man entering the gated community where the family lived at 3am that day.

Information gleaned from Nogueira Gouveira’s bus pass revealed that he travelled to Guadalajara on August 17 and returned the following day.

He also had a plane ticket to Brazil booked for November but changed the date a day after the bodies were unearthed, flying out of Spain on September 19.

When initially questioned by Brazilian police he claimed that he had never been to the house in Pioz and that he had fled Spain because he was scared that he “would be next,” but he later changed his story, telling his lawyer that the physical evidence resulted from him having lived with his relatives.

Spanish authorities had asked for him to be extradited after issuing an international arrest warrant but Brazil refused, and he has now returned voluntarily after “conversations” with his legal representative.

He is said to suffer from “egotism” and “narcissism” and has a violent history, possessing a criminal record for attacking a teacher three years ago.