A church pastor has reportedly been arrested after he allegedly strangled a trans-woman he met at a hotel room last month in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was reported by Metropoles that the body of 27-year-old Luane Costa da Silva was discovered in the room after she and the pastor had been in there for half an hour.
According to the outlet, Pastor Antônio Lima dos Santos Neto had hired Costa da Silva as a call girl and then brought her to the hotel. After being arrested by police, he told them that once he discovered that she was trans, he decided to discontinue any activities with her. This allegedly caused a disagreement due to the fact Costa da Silva felt humiliated.
The accused and the victim were going to have a sexual encounter, at which point Antônio realized that the victim was a transsexual woman and, therefore, gave up on the sexual encounter,” read a police report of the incident. “Given the cancellation of the sexual encounter, the accused and the victim had a trivial argument.”
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Neto claimed that after he paid Costa da Silva, the two got into a physical fight because the woman wanted more money. The pastor told the police that, in order to defend himself, he used a stun gun on the woman who ended up fainting. According to the man, he returned to the room only to collect his phone which he claimed he had forgotten.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office later added that After the crime, the defendant abandoned the body in the room and left the hotel as if nothing had happened. Shortly after, he realized that he had forgotten his cell phone at the crime scene and returned to the hotel to get it, when he was detained by the hotel staff.”
According to police, Antônio squeezed Luanes neck until she died by asphyxiation” due to the previous disagreement. According to Brazil’s laws, the crime carries a basic sentence of six to 20 years, however, due to the futile motive and asphyxiation, the man now faces a possible 12 to 30-year sentence. In addition to prison time, the man is also required to $50,000 to the legal successors of the victim.
While being questioned by the police, Neto reportedly told officers that once he decided to cease intimate contact with Costa da Silva, she demanded that the man pay her an additional $100 or she was going to make a fuss and call police. According to Neto when he attempted to leave the room, Costa da Silva blocked his way and held the room key hostage.
Neto stated that they got into a physical fight and she eventually pulled a stun gun on him. After managing to leave the room, Neto told police that he had used the stun gun on its owner and then discarded it. The man said that he initially did not want the police involved due to his pastor status and the fact that he was married and had three children.
Prosecutor Fabio Perez Fernandez is attempting to portray the murder as Neto being greedy. “There was no family, domestic or affectionate relationship between them, nor does the crime appear to have been motivated by contempt for the condition of women, but rather by a futile and banal discussion”
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