São Paulo police recaptured Wilson de Moraes da Silva, who was convicted for the death of journalist Ivandel Godinho Júnior, Globo Notícias reports. The journalist was kidnapped in 2003 and his body was found and identified by a DNA test in 2006. The police found the fugitive after an anonymous tip claimed that Silva was selling drugs in a house in São Paulo.
After serving three years of his 36-year sentence for the journalist’s killing, Silva was transferred to prison with limited release privileges. In 2008 he was allowed to leave for Father’s Day, and he never returned.
Godinho Júnior's family family paid part of the demanded ransom but never heard again from the journalist. He was killed three days after the abduction with a blow to the head after arguing with his kidnappers.
The killing had a great impact at the time due to delays in its investigation and constant appeals from the family for information leading to the journalist.
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.
