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Mariana Bazza, a 19-year-old student in Brazil, was found dead after accepting help from a stranger and ultimately being kidnapped and murdered. According to the Daily Mail, Bazza was found gagged and blindfolded with her hands behind her back after accepting help changing a car tire.
37-year-old Rodrigo Pereira Alves is suspected of the murder.
Alves has a violent criminal history which includes 12 years in prison for charges like kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, robbery, extortion. He had just been freed from behind bars one month before kidnapping and murdering Bazza. He initially tried to flee when officers approached, but he was later found on the roof of a nearby house.
Prior to her death, Bazza had sent a photo of Alves kneeling beside her car and changing her tire.
“‘She just sent it to tell me what had happened, we laughed at the situation and I sent her a picture of me in my uniform whites because I knew she liked it. I also told her that I loved her,” her boyfriend said to the media. He added that he had never suspected anything to be wrong.
Ultimately, when Bazza was not answering phone calls, her family became concerned.
“[Mariana] didn’t answer her phone after that. The phone didn’t have a signal. We were immediately desperate with worry,” one of Bazza’s aunts added.
Police are continuing to investigate the ultimate cause of her murder.
From the report:
They also recovered a knife from under the seat but this is not thought to have been used in the crime. Marks inside the car indicated that there was a fight but there were no apparent traces of blood, and hairs, possibly from the victim, were collected. An autopsy is expected to determine the cause of death and whether the teenager suffered sexual violence.
Our deepest condolences go out to Bazza’s family and friends during this difficult and tragic time.
