Child Accused of Killing Relatives and Committing Suicide May Be Innocent
After almost eight years, his family continues to point out the contradictions surrounding the case
One of the most intriguing cases ever reported in Brazil happened back in 2013 when a 13-year-old boy was accused of fatally shooting his military parents, his maternal grandmother, and his great-aunt, in their home in São Paulo, Brazil. The murder inquiry also includes that he drove to school, attended classes, and committed suicide once he went back home. His young age, in addition to his docile personality and the contradictions surrounding the case, led people to argue against the official conclusion.
The killing spree took place around 00:30 a.m. on August 5, 2013. The first victim was Luis Marcelo Pesseghini, 40, who was a sergeant in the Military Police; he was shot in the head while sleeping on a mattress in the living room. His wife, Corporal Andreia Regina Bovo Pesseghini, 36, reportedly woke up as she heard the gunshot and headed to the living room to find her husband dead; she was gunned down kneeling next to Luis.
On the same property lived Benedita Oliveira Bovo, 67, and Bernadete Oliveira da Silva, 55, who would be the next victims. Bernadete woke up to the sound of the gunshot that killed Benedita and then was also killed as the perpetrator entered her room.
Each victim died with a single shot fired by Andreia’s .40-caliber revolver. No door or window was broken and there was money on the furniture. The perpetrator was said to be Marcelo Eduardo Bovo Pesseghini, 13, the only son of Luis and Andreia, who supposedly committed suicide hours later.
Eight months earlier, he had posted on his Facebook profile an image related to the Amityville family massacre, which occurred in 1974 when Ronald DeFeo, then 23, shot dead his parents, two brothers, and two sisters in their beds at home. Could Marcelo have been inspired by the Amityville case, or was he accused of a crime he did not commit?
Not long after 1 a.m., CCTV cameras installed near Marcelo’s school caught his mother’s car approaching the school and pulling up to the sidewalk — Marcelo was supposedly the one at the wheel. About 6 hours later, he was captured on camera getting out of the car and calmly walking towards his school carrying a backpack that did not contain school supplies, but clothes, toilet papers, money, a knife, and a .32 caliber revolver.
Marcelo attended classes and as it ended, he took a ride home with a friend’s father. At one point, Marcelo asked him to stop the car so he could get out and pick up some keys in his mother’s car. Once home, he took his mother’s .40-caliber revolver and committed suicide with a shot to his head next to her deceased body.
At least nine of Marcelo’s friends were interrogated and revealed disturbing information regarding his behavior. According to them, it was no secret that Marcelo had homicidal thoughts. He had previously opened up on different occasions about his desire to kill his parents and run away to become a hitman. He had also come up with the idea of creating a peer group called Mercenaries, which purpose was to kill their parents and bad people, such as corrupt politicians. His peers allegedly never collaborated with him and did not take him seriously.
The school coordinator said she had received complaints from children who claimed to be threatened with death by Marcelo, and as she questioned him about his behavior, he said it was a joke. Moreover, he had allegedly told them that his mother taught him how to drive and his father taught him to shoot.
According to Marcelo’s psychiatric report made after his death, he suffered from a hypoxic encephalopathy (lack of oxygen in the brain) that made him develop an “encapsulated delusion” which led him to have delusional ideas and confuse reality with fiction.
On the morning of August 5, Marcelo allegedly confessed to two friends that he had killed his relatives and that it would be his last day of school — but his peers did not take him seriously once again.
Although his age says little about his capacity to commit murder, it scared not only those who knew him but also people from across the country. Additionally, the contradictions present in the case left relatives and acquaintances in doubt as to whether he did that or not. In the following years, the family lawyer continued to point out these inconsistencies in an attempt to prove Marcelo’s innocence.
1- It was reported that Marcelo had no trace of gunshot residue on his hands, and no fingerprints were left on the firearm. The bloodstains patterns found on the walls were reportedly incompatible with shots fired by someone with Marcelo’s height, as he was 5’0 tall (about 1,50). Despite this, although the gun was found in Marcelo’s left hand, his relatives stated he was right-handed. The coroner George Sanguinetti clarified: “They conducted tests only by washing his hands in serum, but they should have removed pieces of the boy’s skin to investigate the residues and they would find it.”
2- Sanguinetti declared that the crime scene was manipulated. According to him, the position of Marcelo’s body is incompatible with suicide. “It is very clear by the position of the corpses that the three were murdered,” he stated. “The position in which the boy fell, with the right hand on the left side of the head and the left arm folded back, with the left palm open up, is not compatible with the position of suicide.” He also affirmed that Andreia’s body was placed where it was found. “The body part that was on the mattress corresponds to 15% of the victim’s body mass, and the remaining weight would cause the body to be dragged to the floor.”
3- Marcelo’s supposed ability to kill his military parents with a single shot, as well as the unusual position of Andreia and Marcelo’s bodies, also grabbed attention. Many speculated that although the child had allegedly been trained, he would probably have fired at least twice to ensure they were dead. Although they were reportedly sleeping when the first shot was fired, it is commonly believed they could easily have disarmed Marcelo.
“The way each of them was killed, with just one shot to the head, is that of a professional sniper.”
— George Sanguinetti
4- The CCTV footage in which Andreia’s car was caught being driven by Marcelo is also believed to be manipulated. Some people do not believe that the boy was driving and claim that there was someone with him in the car. Others do not even believe he is the person captured on camera walking to school. Lawyers pointed out what appeared to be a person getting out of the car at a certain time, shortly before Marcelo did the same, but it has never been proven.
5- According to Colonel Wagner Dimas, commander of the 18th Miliary Police Battalion where Andréia worked, she had denounced fellow officers who were involved in cash machine burglaries after she was reportedly invited to the group and declined it. The investigators did not consider the hypothesis of witness elimination, since nobody was aware whether Andreia had been receiving death threats.
Over the years, Marcelo’s paternal grandparents have never doubted their grandson’s innocence. Brazilians from all across the country also strongly believe in the innocence of Marcelo Pesseghini and hope to see the truth come to light one day.
In 2018, after the request to reopen the case in Brazil was denied, the family’s lawyer requested the case be reopened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
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