Three more arrested as evidence vanishes in Brazil rope swing death
The 21-year-old was thrown to her death after not being attached to a rope.
Police in Brazil have arrested three more suspects a week after a young woman died in a rope-jumping accident, with investigators revealing over the weekend evidence may have been suppressed.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was killed after being thrown without a rope and plunging 40m from a bridge to her death.
Investigating police chief Andrea Levy said indications had emerged that evidence relevant to the inquiry may have been withheld after a recording device the victim was wearing during the jump disappeared.
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Temporary arrest warrants were issued for an initial period of five days.
A court also authorised searches and the seizure of mobile phones, electronic devices and other evidence.
Investigators said there were also indications that digital content may have been deleted following the accident.
The inquiry is being conducted on suspicion that those responsible may have knowingly accepted the risk of the woman’s death.
Authorities are also examining possible obstruction of justice.
The young woman fell about 40m on June 13 from the disused Ponte do Esqueleto bridge between the towns of Limeira and Cordeiropolis in the state of Sao Paulo.
Video footage shows members of the organiser’s team pushing her from the jump platform even though the safety rope had been left unsecured on the platform.
The three instructors detained on the day of the accident remain in custody.
The team has so far been unable to explain how the fatal error occurred.
The disappearance of the camera the 21-year-old student had been wearing during the jump has been puzzling investigators for days.
Police are continuing to search for the device, which is considered an important piece of evidence for reconstructing what happened.
An eyewitness told the news portal G1 that after the impact he had observed a member of the organiser’s team removing the device from the body of the victim.
Originally published on Deutsche Presse Agentur
