Brazilian lawyer accused of throwing girlfriend off building after claiming she killed herself

Mother of two Carolina Franca Magalhaes, 40, died in Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on June 8, 2022 when she fell from the eighth floor of a building.

Investigators initially ruled her death a suicide but further investigations have determined that she was murdered, according to the police. Her boyfriend Raul Rodrigues Costa Lages, a prominent local lawyer, has now been indicted over her death.

Over two years after the crime, the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais accepted a complaint from the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) and made Costa Lages a defendant in the case in which he is accused of killing his girlfriend.

Police officer Iara Franca Camargos, who oversaw the case, said: "We didn't have much information and there were no eyewitnesses. When he was interviewed, he gave us information about what had happened that night. He tried to hide it and put forward several situations that put him outside the crime scene.

"He said that he had decided to end the relationship, took some of his things from the apartment and went downstairs and, when he was already at the entrance, he was told by the doorman that there was a woman's body."

But by carefully studying CCTV footage from the scene showing the suspect coming and going, investigators were able to establish that he had not been at the foot of the building at the time the victim had fallen.

She said: "Throughout the investigation, we dismantled all of his arguments, including the most important one, that he was not at the scene of the incident at the time of the fall."

According to the Civil Police, on the night of the crime, Costa Lages allegedly knocked Carolina down in the apartment and, upon realising that she was unconscious, he cleaned and organised the place, putting bed linen in the washing machine and collecting belongings.

He then allegedly cut the screen off the balcony door, threw it away in the kitchen rubbish, put away some scissors, picked up Carolina and then threw her body through the hole in the screen. Police were unable to determine whether the victim was already dead when she fell.

The police officer continued: "According to the images, when he was at the entrance, the body had already fallen a few minutes earlier. He saw the body, returned to the entrance and then left the place."

She also said that the suspect had a history of being psychologically abusive towards women and had sought to emphasise that she had been depressed.

Franca Camargos said: "It's very typical of feminicides, trying to disqualify her by saying that she was depressed, that she was crazy, jealous, that she was always running after him, when the investigations show that she tried to break up with him, and she tried several times, he wouldn't let her, he manipulated her emotionally."

Carolina's son, Vitor Magalhaes, explained that the family had to "remain silent" during the last few years so that the investigations could proceed without incident.

The law student says that the family wants to honour his mother's memory.

He said: "We had a very strong friendship, and I think it's these good memories that stay. We have to stay strong, there are days that are harder. My brother and I are now continuing something she always wanted, which is to see us sing, so we can feel her close at all times."

Costa Lages was charged with qualified homicide and will remain free during the trial. The court case is ongoing.

Story: NewsX