Francisco Erike da Silva Araújo was killed during a fight with fellow inmate Marcos Paulo Pinheiro Viana da Silva at the Professor José Jucá Neto Prison Unit (Itaitinga III), in Itaitinga, in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza, on Sunday, according to Ceará’s Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration and Resocialization (SAP). The agency said the two men belonged to criminal organizations originating in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, respectively.
Prison officers intervened and took Araújo to the unit’s health professionals. He had injuries to his neck and chest. The SAP said staff performed first aid and called the emergency medical service, whose team confirmed his death at the prison.
Marcos was taken to a police station and charged with intentional homicide. At a custody hearing on Monday, a judge ordered his pretrial detention. The court cited the circumstances of the killing, which it said involved a homemade bladed weapon used against vital areas inside a prison.
The judge also noted that Marcos has convictions for robbery and another homicide, for which he received a sentence of 39 years, six months and 20 days. He also has a record of escape and four serious disciplinary violations in prison. Marcos told investigators he had taken the weapon from Araújo and acted in self-defense; the court said there was not enough evidence at this stage to support that account.
Sources: G1.