Influencer Investigated in Retired Officer's Murder Executed in Front of Father
Authorities suspect Evelyn Lima Dantas aided killers of a retired police sergeant before her death.
A 21-year-old influencer, Evelyn Lima Dantas, was killed in front of her father at her home in northeast Brazil on Wednesday, just days after being released from custody. Dantas was under investigation for her alleged involvement in the July 29 murder of retired police sergeant Antonio Anildo Alves da Silva, who was shot by four masked men outside a supermarket.
Investigators reportedly suspect Dantas assisted the assailants before the officer's death. She had been arrested on Sept. 9 as part of the ongoing investigation but was later released. Dantas, who had over 24,000 followers on social media where she documented her lifestyle, had a prior arrest record for suspected drug trafficking linked to a criminal faction.
Following Dantas's murder, two men reportedly broke into her home, shot her multiple times on the sidewalk, and then spray-painted "TCP" on the front of the house. "TCP" is a reference to Terceiro Comando Puro, one of Rio de Janeiro's largest criminal organizations. Authorities are now investigating whether Dantas's killing was an act of retaliation or an attempt to silence her.
"We are working with the hypothesis of a cover-up or retaliation by some criminal faction," Rodrigo Lopes, a police representative, told reporters. No arrests have been made in connection with Dantas's death.