In deposition that lasted four hours, Rayfran das Neves Sales, 28 years old, admitted Monday, February 21, that he killed American missionary nationalized Brazilian, Dorothy Stang, in Pará state, Brazil.
He will be indicted for qualified homicide. According to a prosecutor who accompanied the deposition, more details about the investigation cannot be published because Pará’s civilian police has asked that the inquiry be kept secret.
Rayfran involved other people in the crime and there are speculations that he mentioned politicians from Anapu’s area, the region where Stang was murdered.
According to chief of police, Luís Fernandes, the accused confessed the crime but he denied he had been hired by the farmer Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, one of the people being investigated.
Rayfran would have affirmed that the instigator of the crime was the president of the Rural Union of Anapu, Francisco de Assis de Souza, better known as Chiquinho, and former vice mayor of the city.
Souza belongs to the PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores – Workers’ Party), the same party of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and was one of the American missionary’s principal allies.
Rayfran arrived in Altamira on Monday. Police say he was captured Sunday night just 20 miles away from where the crime happened, on February 12. He was unarmed and didn’t resist to prison.
According to witnesses depositions to police, Rayfran was the author of most of the shots that killed the nun. The police continues searching for Vitalmiro Moura, Bida, still suspect of ordering the murder, and gunman Uilquelano of Souza Pinto, Eduardo.
Amair Feijoli, Tato, was also indicted on Sunday in the two inquiries open by the police to find out the American missionary’s murder. He is being accused by the Civil Police as well as Federal Police of qualified homicide.
BrM