Posted on 04/01/2004 7:00:09 PM PST by nuconvert
Brazil Handyman Confesses to Killing American Couple By Michael Astor
Apr 1, 2004
Associated Press Writer
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - A 20-year-old handyman confessed Thursday to the bludgeoning deaths of an American Shell Oil executive and his wife in their high-security home last year, saying he was upset about an alleged racial insult. Jociel Conceicao dos Santos was arrested early Thursday and later admitted to the killings during a police news conference, the latest chapter in a case that has sparked international attention and intense local coverage.
Todd and Michelle Staheli were beaten to death as they slept in their beds Nov. 30. All four of their children, ages 3 to 13, were home but unaware of the attack.
"It was me, yes sir, I did it with this weapon. A crowbar," dos Santos told reporters, referring to the rusty tool laying nearby.
Dos Santos, who is black, told reporters he was called one of the worst racial slurs for Brazilian blacks in fluent Portuguese by Todd Staheli.
Rio state security chief Anthony Garotinho said investigators were suspicious of the motive and planned to continue the probe.
"The crime is partially cleared up," Garotinho said. "We have the killer. He confessed. We found the weapon, but the motive is not totally clear."
Todd Staheli's father, Zera, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Utah that his son "was not a racially prejudiced man in any way, and as far as I know he did not speak any Portuguese."
The presence of a suspect at a news conference was rare in Brazil, a reflection of the intense interest in the case. He stood next to Garotinho and was under heavy police guard.
Dos Santos's arrest was surprising because police said for months that the crime appeared to be the work of professionals or a member of the household.
Dos Santos told reporters he climbed over a wall into the Staheli property and let himself into the home through an unlocked door. The suspect said he had no plans to hurt Staheli's wife, but attacked her after she woke up.
"We said he was either highly profession or inside the house all along and it turns out he was inside all along, he just jumped over the wall," said Roger Ancillotte, head of the police forensics unit.
Staheli, 39, was vice president for joint ventures in the Southern Cone gas and power unit of Shell. Both he and his wife were natives of Utah.
Shell's spokesman in Brazil, Ricardo David, said the company did not plan to comment until Friday.
Although the Rio homicide rate hovers around 50 per 100,000 residents, violence rarely spills into the city's high-security condominiums.
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"handyman"?????
Ah! He has learned very well, eh? Just play the race card and all shall be well!
"paging Mssrs Jackson and Sharpton....please pick up the Portuguese courtesey 'phone...paging Messrs Jackson and Sharpton....."
Actually, one of my first people I met in Praia Grande is a big guy name Carlao. Paulo brought him over the first day I was down there. Carlao asked me as an American what I thought about all the different races down there getting along and everything, as opposed to America where everyone is so uptight about race and PC.
I told him "O que um arcuiris com so uma cor?".
"What is a rainbow with only one color?"
It was a good answer. Carlao taught me how to Samba. We had blast that Carnaval. One of the last "best times" I had as a single guy.
Carlao's best moment in Carnaval was dissappearing during Samba party in the first 10 minutes with a girl met. We found him down the beach the next day, covered head to toe in sand. Wearing nothing but his shorts and that big smile.
At any rate, there just wasn't any time to learn slurs...LOL!
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