Brazilian police arrest suspected serial killer disguised in dress and wig in Paraiba

Arrest in disguise

Lopes da Silva had previously fled from Cabedelo, where he had been hiding, before officers tracked him to Mulungu in Paraiba. The arrest concluded a multi-day search across rural and forested terrain in the state. To evade law enforcement during a search that lasted between 30 and 48 hours, Lopes da Silva wore a long dress, a black wig, sunglasses, women's sandals, and nail polish. He also carried an unrelated two-year-old child in his arms to appear as a mother. Officers identified him after his dress shifted slightly, exposing a distinctive tattoo on the right side of his chest. Lopes da Silva surrendered without armed resistance, and medical personnel confirmed that the child suffered no physical harm.

Interrogation and confession

Following his detention, Lopes da Silva removed his wig while smiling before television cameras and made extensive statements during questioning broadcast on the program Balanço Geral. He claimed responsibility for approximately 80 homicides throughout his life, asserting that he committed his first killing at age 13 after an altercation involving his father. Lopes da Silva told investigators that all of his targets had ties to the underworld and that he acted to exact vengeance following threats against his family. Investigators are currently comparing his statements against technical evidence and regional homicide registries.

I am not a psychopath and not a dangerous person. I am a good person. Everyone knows me.

Evidence in the Mamanguape Valley

Civil Police investigators have gathered evidence connecting Lopes da Silva to at least 16 homicides committed across a three-month span in the Mamanguape Valley region. Police Commissioner Douglas Garcia told Jornal da Paraiba that evidence links the suspect to a succession of killings beginning in late May 2026. Authorities are reviewing unsolved cases across the region, including the 1 August 2026 killing of two merchants in Rio Tinto carried out by five men. Investigators also recovered the body of a young victim at a location that the suspect pointed out to police officers during questioning. Approximately 20 days prior to his capture, Lopes da Silva fled into wooded areas following an armed confrontation with police in Rio Tinto.

Gang links and criminal background

Police assert that Lopes da Silva operated as part of a criminal organization in the Mamanguape Valley, though the suspect denied gang membership during his interrogation. The capture of Lopes da Silva followed the detention of two alleged accomplices by police on the preceding day, Saturday, 12 September 2026. Lopes da Silva had been released from prison in May 2026 and previously spent at least five years of his life behind bars for various offenses since his youth, though without earlier homicide charges. A court issued a preventive arrest warrant, and authorities transferred the suspect to prison on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, as inquiries continue into unconfirmed deaths.