Jeff Machado: Prime Suspect Defense Includes a Third Person at the Crime Scene

In a press conference this Thursday (1), the defense of Bruno Rodrigues reiterated the innocence of the TV producer and former employee of Globo, the main suspect in the murder of actor Jeff Machado, but admitted his participation in the concealment of the body of the artist.

The lawyers also mentioned the presence of a third person at the crime scene – this person, according to the statement given by Bruno to the police, would be the actor’s killer. The version is contested by the police and the lawyers of the victim’s family.

Jeff’s corpse was found inside a trunk, hidden and concreted on the ground of a rented house, in Campo Grande, in the west zone of the city. On Thursday night (31), the Whereabouts Discovery Police Station (DDPA) indicted Bruno and Jeander Vinícius da Silva Braga for triple murder and for concealing a corpse and issued an arrest warrant.

Jeander is the second suspect in the death and would be a program boy. He already has a passage through the police and was arrested for four months for a robbery in 2019, in Copacabana, south of Rio. The police believe that the two have known each other for years and that they tried to pull a financial blow on Jeff, which corroborates the hypothesis that Bruno approached the victim with the promise of work in the artistic world.

In a statement given to the authorities at the police station on Friday (26), Bruno said that he went to Jeff’s house accompanied by Jeander and a supposed third person named Marcelo, on January 23, to record a sexual relationship between the boy from program and the man mentioned by the suspects.

The producer also said that, after recording, he went down to the ground floor of the house and, minutes later, the other two appeared carrying Jeff, unconscious. When he questioned Jeander about what happened, he would have said that Marcelo gave the actor a “rear naked choke”, as he would have discovered that he had the HIV virus and the two would have had sex without a condom.

“There were four people in the room. Although the police do not agree with this fact, Bruno has collaborated. We are going to face the testimonies. The defense is not unaware that the police point out differences in the testimonies”, said João.

The victim’s family lawyer tells the F5 that the police rule out the possibility that a third person was involved in the murder.

“The authorities refute this testimony and the existence of this person, as it does not match any element of the investigation. We believe that Bruno’s statement is a way of diverting the focus from himself.” Questioned about the recording, the lawyer says that part of the video was taken on Jeff’s cell phone, which would have been discarded at Marcelo’s behest, and the other on Jeander’s device.