Erika de Souza Vieira was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday and could be charged with attempted theft by fraud and injuring the integrity of a corpse. She had gone to the bank with her uncle, who had died several hours ago in a wheelchair.
His goal was to withdraw the sum of 17,000 Brazilian reais, the equivalent of 3,000 euros, in his name. The woman was arrested at the scene, after the arrival of emergency services, contacted by the bank agency. They quickly declared that the sixty-year-old had been dead for at least several hours. She could face up to 13 years in prison, according to police sources. The incident was reported to have taken place on April 16, but was not reported until April 19, when it was reported that the woman had been arrested by the Rio de Janeiro police and charged with fraud and harm to the corpse.