Why Soccer Star Bruno Fernandes De Souza Killed His Mistress

In 2010, Bruno Fernandes de Souza was living the dream. He was a successful Brazilian soccer player who held the position of goalkeeper and team captain for Flamengo, Brazil's most popular soccer club. The then-24-year-old was a rising star, with talks that he could be ready to play internationally and would even be one of his country's representatives for the 2014 World Cup, as reported by BBC.

By July 2010, Flamengo announced the suspension of Bruno. The announcement came as a surprise, but details revealed later provided the cause of Flamengo's decision to get rid of their star. Bruno was suspected of being the mastermind behind the gruesome murder of Eliza Samudio, the mother of his youngest child, per The Guardian. Bruno was already married to Dayana Rodrigues and had two children with her when he met Eliza at a party. The two had an affair that ended up in a pregnancy. Bruno wanted Eliza to have an abortion and upon her refusal, Bruno broke off their affair.

Eliza Samudio gave birth to a baby boy in February 2010 and filed a paternity lawsuit in court for child support payments. A DNA test proved that the baby was, indeed, Bruno's, according to NPR.

Months after Eliza gave birth, she was lured from Rio de Janeiro to a ranch in Belo Horizonte, a location six hours away. According to a report from ESPN, Eliza was told that she would be meeting with Bruno and that the father of her child will be recognizing the child as his and will even provide an apartment for both of them. Upon arriving at the destination, Eliza was reportedly tortured and killed by Bruno's friends and family.

Bruno was arrested a month later and denied any wrongdoing, but his cousin provided details and evidence that the murder of Eliza was ordered by the soccer star. According to authorities, several accomplices, including an ex-cop, tied up and tortured Eliza. In a court testimony, Eliza was reportedly beat up and strangled before some of her body parts were fed to dogs, per Human Rights Watch.

In 2013, Bruno Fernandes de Souza was found guilty of orchestrating Eliza's murder and hiding her body. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and eight other people who were accomplices in the crime were arrested as well.