Paola Stefany Neto Cirino, a 30-year-old cleaner, has been arrested on suspicion of drugging and stabbing an elderly couple to death in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to settle gambling debts. Police allege she placed four tablets into the juice of Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel, 76, and her husband Cláudio Atala Inácio, 75, before attacking them with a knife.
Violent attack and escape
According to investigators, Cirino stabbed Inácio more than 40 times and Maciel 17 times. Despite being drugged, Inácio fought back, sustaining defensive wounds. The bodies were discovered by the couple’s son on Tuesday after Inácio failed to show up for work. The son found his parents dead with stab wounds to the back, throat, neck, abdomen, chin, chest, and other areas.
CCTV footage shows Cirino arriving at the apartment block at 7:30 am and leaving eight hours later wearing different clothes, carrying two large bags, and sporting Maciel’s sunglasses. She was also seen discarding a bloodstained blouse into a skip on a nearby street. Before fleeing, she allegedly told family members she had “done something terribly wrong.”
Arrest and confession
Cirino was arrested at a hotel in Itabira, where she had fled with her six-year-old son. Police recovered belongings of the couple and £2,587 in cash, which investigators say she obtained by selling their possessions—including watches, jewellery, and mobile phones—in central Belo Horizonte. She allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming she needed money to pay off gambling debts of around £5,752, reportedly owed to a loan shark after betting online on the game Fortune Tiger.
Victims and motive
The victims were well-known in their community. Maciel owned a shop and had been a successful athlete for many years. Inácio was a founding partner of a law firm and still worked daily. Relatives described them as “full of life” and avid travellers who had recently returned from a trip to the US. Cirino had been recommended by a relative of the couple to do cleaning work; it was her first day at their home, though she had worked for a family member of the couple for years. Police do not believe the relative was involved.
Cirino is being investigated on suspicion of robbery-murder. The case has shocked the local community, highlighting the dangers of unvetted domestic workers and the devastating impact of gambling addiction.
