The Attorney General of Goiás accused five suspects of the murder of journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira on Wednesday, Feb. 27, said the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Among the five were two military policemen, one notary public, and the former manager of a soccer team.
Valério Luiz worked for Rádio Jornal 820 in Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, and was killed by seven shots while standing at the entrance to the radio station on July 5 of last year. Before his death, the commentator had received threats from the directors of soccer team Atlético Clube Goianiense and was banned from the team’s premises.
Investigations confirmed that Oliveira’s commentating was the motive for his killers, according to news website Terra. Oliveira was a constant critic of the board of directors of Atlético Clube Goianiense on the programs “Jornal de Debates,” on Rádio Jornal, and “Mais Esporte,” on PUC-TV.
The police investigation named businessman Maurício Borges Sampaio, vice-director of the team, as the crime’s leader. Military Police corporal Ademá Figuerêdo Aguiar Filho, who once worked as personal security for Sampaio, fired that shots that killed Oliveira, said the website of the Military Police. The other suspects were accused of helping to commit the crime. All are now imprisoned.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
