Authorities are investigating the brutal murder of soap actor Jefferson Machado, whose body was discovered buried in a wooden trunk beneath an outhouse in Rio de Janeiro. Bruno de Souza, a former television employee, and friend of Machado, has been identified as a suspect in the case.
The investigation reveals that de Souza had rented the property just one month before where Machado's body was found six feet under a concrete floor on May 22, 2023, as reported by the Brazilian news magazine show Fantastico. While de Souza has not been charged with any crime, his defense team claims that he is awaiting the results of the ongoing investigation.
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Slain Jefferson Machado's mother shares details of payments made to suspect
Machado's recently released autopsy results indicate that he was either asphyxiated or strangled. The report, however, could not determine the exact cause of death due to the body's decomposition. In an emotional interview, Machado's mother Maria das Dores revealed that her son had paid de Souza a total of 16,000 reais (approximately $3,200) in three installments. The payments were allegedly for assistance in securing a role in a TV Globo soap opera. Das Dores stated that Machado initially handed de Souza 12,000 reais, followed by 2,000 reais for filming, and an additional 2,000 reais for an unidentified expense.
"You have a dream that is so strong inside you that the impression is that you (are) blind to reality," Das Dores said of her second son, who in 2022 played a role in Record TV's soap opera 'Reis'. The investigation unveiled further details, indicating that Machado's disappearance was first noticed on January 27 when his dogs were found abandoned at his residence in Campo Grande, Rio de Janeiro. While six of the dogs were rescued, two tragically died—one from being hit by a vehicle and the other from illness. Machado was officially registered as a missing person by the police on February 9.
Key details unveiled in Jefferson Machado's case
De Souza, who was fired from TV Globo in 2018, possessed the keys to Machado's home and car when he reported his friend's disappearance. Surprisingly, de Souza also had access to Machado's bank cards and reportedly withdrew $5,000 from the actor's accounts, according to the family lawyer Jairo Magalhães. "He (Machado) continued to have transactions in his accounts even though he disappeared," Magalhães said, as per Daily Mail.
Das Dores described the change in communication with her son, noting that their conversations shifted from phone calls to text messages via WhatsApp. She last spoke to Machado on January 19 to wish him a happy birthday and then exchanged messages two days later. Concerned, Das Dores called him on January 23, but he replied, "I can't talk, Mom," because he had dropped his cell phone in the toilet.
As time went on, Das Dores felt that the person she was communicating with through texts did not seem like her son due to grammatical mistakes. "I don't have any more tears," she said, adding, "I just feel pain because tears seem to ease the pain. I can't even cry anymore. I have physical pain, soul pain."
Investigators in Rio de Janeiro believe that Machado may have been killed in January, and the case continues to be investigated as they gather evidence.
