ILHÉUS, BAHIA, BRAZIL – AUGUST 23, 2020 23-year-old Luana Mendes Santos, also known as Luh, was found dead in Baía da Sapetinga in the southern part of the city of Ilhéus. Her body was discovered by fishermen caught in vegetation in a mangrove area. She was found partially undressed from the waist down.
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- Luana Mendes Santos 1
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- Luana Mendes Santos 2
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- Luana Mendes Santos 3
Luana had gone missing two days earlier, on August 21. According to her family, she left home that day for downtown Ilhéus to collect an emergency social benefit. However, she disappeared along the way and never returned. On the same day, according to her brother who lives in São Paulo, Luana said that someone had repeatedly threatened to kill her. She did not say who had threatened her.
Later local reports stated that Luana died from a gunshot wound to the forehead. Her father subsequently identified the body at the technical police department in Ilhéus. Luana was single and left behind a two-year-old son.
The case took on another tragic dimension just four days later. Jorge Mendes dos Santos, Luana’s 45-year-old father, known by the nickname Jorge Caramuru, was shot dead on August 27 in the Paraguai area of the Nelson Costa neighborhood. According to local media, three armed men approached him and fired several shots. Jorge tried to flee but succumbed to his injuries.
Police subsequently began investigating whether the murder of Jorge Mendes dos Santos was connected to his daughter’s death. However, it was not determined whether the two murders were related, nor who was responsible for them.
