But public prosecutor has doubts
A man in jail over a drug trafficking case has now been linked to the brutal deaths of two women who went missing in Algarve last year.
The news broke this afternoon after CMTV reported that the body of 25-year-old Brazilian citizen Josiele Rodrigues, who went missing in Quarteira on December 6, 2022 was found today in an area of shrub land in Ourique in the Lower Alentejo.
According to CMTV, citing PJ police sources, the body had been burned and was found in an advanced stage of decomposition.
The “prime suspect,” according to PJ police, is a man who was originally arrested for drug trafficking.
During interrogation, PJ police have been able to establish a link between the man and both the deaths of Josiele Rodrigues and that of Sandra Andrade – a 49-year-old ‘TVDE’ driver whose body parts were found inside a suitcase hidden in a stone wall near the village of São Lourenço in Almancil, Loulé in August 2022.
The man, who was heard in court today, had already been interrogated by PJ police but, at the time, there was not enough evidence to remand him in custody over the two deaths, only for crimes relating to drug trafficking, says CNN Portugal.
Meanwhile, according to CMTV, the man is believed to have been a client of Josiele Rodrigues, who was reportedly an escort.
Authorities believe that the murder may have occurred after a meeting between the two “went wrong”. PJ police also suspect the man burnt the body to make identification harder.
The body is due to undergo an autopsy.
While PJ police believe that the man was behind both murders, CNN Portugal reports that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has its doubts and believes that there is only enough evidence to prove the accusations of drug trafficking.
The investigation continues as authorities attempt to “connect the dots” that link the man to both deaths.
