A disturbing succession of discoveries in different parts of São Paulo has sparked a theory that quickly spread across social media: could a serial killer be behind these crimes?
It all began on September 5, when sanitation workers found a body abandoned inside a black bag on a street in the southern part of the city. The body was tied up with ropes, and the case began to be investigated as a homicide.
Just five days later, two more bodies were found in the eastern part of the city. One of the victims was a woman who was wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a plastic bag, with a gunshot wound. About three kilometers away, another person was found, also tied up, covered with a blanket, and wrapped in plastic.
The sequence became even more disturbing on September 19. In a hard-to-reach area of Jaçanã, police found a dismembered body distributed among several bags. The head and hands were initially missing, although officers later found more remains during the searches. The victim was identified as Murilo Sanches dos Santos, who had been reported missing.
The most recent case occurred on October 2. Another man was found dead inside a plastic bag near Corinthians’ training center. His arms and legs were tied with adhesive tape, and the case was handed over to the Homicide Department.
In total, five bodies were found under seemingly similar circumstances in less than a month, enough for the possibility of a serial killer to start circulating online.
However, there is an important twist: police say that so far they have found no evidence linking the homicides. Investigators point to differences in the locations, methods, and circumstances of each death, and are even pursuing specific suspects and possible motives in some cases.
For now, then, the five homicides are real, but the supposed serial killer remains a theory that emerged on social media. A macabre coincidence that the investigation will have to fully explain.