A BLONDE law student who allegedly tested rat poison on 10 dogs has been accused of killing four people in a five month long killing spree.
Brazilian woman Ana Paula Veloso Fernandes, 36, who allegedly killed a 65-year-old man with a poisoned stew, has been accused of three further murders in shocking new claims.
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Fernandes was allegedly helped by her twin sister Roberta Cristina Veloso Fernandes and friend Michelle Paiva da Silva, 43, who is the daughter of one of the alleged victims.
Police allege the three women carried out the murders between January and May 2025 in Guarulhos and Sao Paulo in south-eastern Brazil and Duque de Caxias in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Investigators believe motives range from revenge to financial gain, as her methodology was revealed to the public.
Police chief Halisson Ideiao said Fernandes would use different strategies to get closer to her victims, and in every case under investigation, she was the last person to have contact with them and the first to call police.
“Ana Paula takes pleasure in killing. Her motivation doesn’t really matter – she wants to kill,” he said.
Marcelo Fonseca who was allegedly murdered in Guarulhos in January, is believed to be the first victim.
Fernandes had moved into his house under the guise of renting a room.
Within four days, she had allegedly poisoned him and left his body to decompose.
In April, Maria Aparecida Rodrigues was found dead after having coffee at Fernandes’ home.
The victim’s daughter said the two women had met via a dating app.
Police allege Fernandes tried to frame a former boyfriend, a military police officer, for Rodrigues’ death, where she allegedly used forged notes and made a supposedly poisoned cake to support her claims.
The third known death happened in April, in Duque de Caxias.
Neil Correia da Silva, a father of one of Fernandes’ college classmates, died after eating food laced with poison.
Police say the murder had been ordered by de Silva’s daughter, Michele Paiva de Queiroz, after she allegedly paid Fernandes £540 (4000 Brazilian Real).
The fourth and final alleged murder happened in May, when Fernandes reported the death of Hayder Mhazres.
She had been romantically involved with the 21-year-old Tunisian man prior to his death.
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After their breakup, she allegedly faked a pregnancy and, when rejected, poisoned him with a milkshake.
He died after feeling sick at home.
Messages between the suspects were allegedly labelled using the code TCC – an acronym for Trabalho de Conclusao de Curso, meaning final university thesis.
The label was allegedly used to disguise the payment.
Fernandes, de Queiroz and Fernandes’ twin sister have all been arrested in relation to the alleged murders.
Police say Fernandes confessed to killing 10 dogs to test the strength of the poison before using it on her victims.
During a raid on her home, officers found terbufos, a banned pesticide similar to rat poison.
Police Chief Ideiao described Fernandes as an “extremely manipulative” serial killer, who tried to control the narrative and appeared to cooperate with investigators.
He said she showed: “Coldness, a lack of remorse and a clear pleasure, not only in committing the crime, but in remaining around it, in witnessing the impact of what she did”.
“[She] would certainly attempt to kill others again,” he added.
Police are currently awaiting the results from a toxicology report from the exhumed bodies in order to confirm what substance was used to kill them.
The investigation remains ongoing.
