The ex-boyfriend of mining executive Cecilia Haddad, whose body was found in a Sydney river, has been charged with her murder.
Brazilian police formally charged Mario Marcelo Santoro, 40, with the murder of his former girlfriend on Tuesday – Monday night Brazil local time.
Santoro reportedly told arresting officers ‘I’ve ended my life’, but refused to speak as he was led through a frenzied media pack to a police station.
Santoro flew back to his native Brazil on the same April weekend the fully-clothed body of the 38-year-old mining executive was found in Sydney’s Lane Cove River.
Brazilian police formerly charged Mario Marcelo Santoro, 40, (centre) with the murder of his former girlfriend on Tuesday – Monday night Brazil local time
Santoro reportedly told arresting officers ‘I’ve ended my life’, but refused to speak as he was led through a frenzied media pack to a police station
Santoro will now be transferred to a Brazilian prison where he will await trial over Ms Haddad’s murder.
Brazilian homicide police chief Dr Fabio Cardoso said Santoro had been ‘swinging between normality and depression’ since he was apprehended.
‘The police investigating the murder have important information, witness statements, forensic and physical evidence, that will help us build up a case and bring a successful prosecution,’ Dr Cardoso said.
Brazilian police have charged Mario Marcelo Santoro (right) over the death of his former girlfriend Cecilia Haddad (left)
Cecília Haddad’s (pictured) fully-clothed body was found floating in the Lane Cove River, north of the Sydney CBD, in late April
The Rio de Janeiro police department said Santoro was arrested at a relative’s home in the city’s Botafogo district on Saturday, the Associated Press reports.
Local footage shows Santoro being led through a frenzied media pack on his way into a police station.
He was arrested a day after police searched his home in Rio de Janeiro as well as the homes of his parents and relatives, after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Thursday.
Mario Marcelo Santoro (pictured) was arrested a day after police searched his home in Rio de Janeiro
Ms Haddad (pictured), a 38-year-old former mining executive, was allegedly killed by asphyxiation
NSW Homicide Squad detectives are preparing to travel to Brazil ‘as soon as international protocols have been met’, a police spokeswoman told AAP.
‘NSW Police Force is continuing to work through commonwealth processes in order to bring a successful conclusion to their investigation,’ the spokeswoman said.
Fabio Cardoso, from Rio’s homicide division, said police believe Ms Haddad was killed by asphyxiation.
‘In April, by not accepting the break-up, he (Santoro) allegedly killed her by asphyxiation by pressing her neck and dumping her body in the river,’ Mr Cardoso told the Seven Network in Brazil.
‘We know he had the key to her house because he lived there for a while.’
NSW Police issued a warrant for the 40-year-old’s arrest last month, but there are concerns Santoro will never be extradited to Australia to face charges because of Brazilian laws and customs.
Foriegn Minister Julie Bishop last week told reporters Australian authorities were ‘working closely’ with Brazilian counterparts to ensure an ‘appropriate’ outcome.