A city government worker was arrested in Brazil after he confessed to murdering his wife and former girlfriend in separate sword attacks.
A Goiás Civil Police official said that Renan dos Santos, 23, had an argument with his wife, Luana Meirelles, 28, at the studio apartment they shared in the town of Edésia on Thursday and stabbed her with a sword.
After killing his spouse of one year, dos Santos was seen in a surveillance camera pulling up in his bike at the store where his former girlfriend, Ana Ribeiro, 22, worked and later attacked her.
The footage, which was released by the police, showed dos Santos calmly walking into the shop with the sword and intercepting Ribeiro in front of a customer.
The camera showed Ribeiro attempting to run away and then falling as dos Santos leaned over her and began to stab her while a worker watched in horror.
Ribeiro was rushed to Governor Otávio Lage de Siqueira State Emergency Hospital in the town of Goiânia and was placed in a ventilator before dying from her wounds Saturday.
Renan, who was employed as an assistant with the Edéia City Hall, was seen on camera riding his bicycle away from the store and was arrested several hours later.
He told Civil Police investigators that he killed both women in an act of jealousy.
‘He stabbed his partner with a homemade knife,’ Civil Police chief Daniel Moura told reporters. ‘After killing his partner, he went to the work of another woman (Ribeiro), who was allegedly the reason for the argument, and he also stabbed her several times.’
Dos Santos is facing two femicide charges and is in pretrial detention.
Meirelles leaves behind three children, two daughters, aged six and 12, and a 10-year-old son, all from prior relationships.
She had dreams of becoming a psychologist but was unable to finish her university studies because of a financial hardship.
‘She was a hard worker and loved her children very much,’ her cousin Gisane Alves said, as quoted by Brazilian news outlet G1. ‘There was never a bad time for her, it was hard to see her sad.’
Ribeiro was lauded by her customers for her excellent level of service.
‘The service was impeccable, always attentive,’ one shopper wrote on social media.
‘Excellent professional, a saleswoman who was always happy to help,’ another commented.