An cruel father killed his own four children with a knife and a pillow as “revenge” on their mother.
The victims, who were three, six, eight, and eleven years old, were discovered dead on Tuesday in the suspect’s home in Alvorada, southern Brazil.
The following morning, early, David da Silva Lemos, 28, was taken into custody in a hotel in nearby Porto Alegre.
He claimed to have given the kids “tea” to calm them down before choking and stabbing them with a knife and a pillow.
Victims Yasmin Antunes Lemos, 11, Donavan Antunes Lemos, 8, Giovanna Antunes Lemos, 6, and Kimberlly Antunes Lemos, 3, their father David da Silva Lemos, 28, and an unidentified woman
He invoked his right to silence after being transported to the police station.
The grandmother of the children thinks he killed the kids to exact “revenge” on their mother, whom he had recently divorced.
“Their relationship had ended for good, but he did it to get to my daughter – I’m sure of it – in the worst way possible. He is a coward.”
Police say the couple had been together for 12 years but separated after Lemos assaulted his partner in September.
Relatives said that at the time of the killings, the children had been staying with their father
The 24-year-old victim had filed a restraining order against him and reported the event to the police.
According to relatives, the kids were staying with their father at the time of the killings and were scheduled to return to their mother in a few days.
According to police, Lemos sent threatening messages to his ex-partner just before it’s thought the killings were committed.
It’s thought to be his first act of violence towards his children, despite a history of domestic abuse.
The victims have been identified as Kimberlly, Giovanna, Donavan, and Yasmin Antunes Lemos, in order of age.
Two weeks before to the horrifying finding, mother Eliara Paz Nardes is suspected of murdering her nine-year-old daughter Alice Nardes de Oliveira and three-year-old son Joaquim Nardes Jardins.
On Saturday, when Mrs. Nardes, 31, apparently phoned a lawyer to confess to the killings, police discovered the children’s bodies.
Two victims that testing subsequently revealed had been deceased for 14 days were found in Mrs. Nardes’ apartment in Guarapuava, Parana, after the lawyer alerted the authorities.
Local media said that police claimed the bodies were covered with a blanket to mask the odour as they were laying on Mrs. Nardes’ bed.
