Two Brazilian suspects in the disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and his guide Bruno Pereira have confessed to killing and dismembering the men, local broadcaster Band News reported on Wednesday June 15.
Local site R7 released the names of the two fishermen arrested on suspicion of murder, the Mirror reports.. One of the men confessed they had “killed, quartered and set fire” to the bodies after witnesses saw them chasing the journalist and his colleague’s speedboat.
They then told Brazil’s Federal Police where they abandoned the bodies after burning them, R7 reports. Reports citing federal police sources say that the men were killed after photographing the suspects fishing illegally.
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Band Jornalismo reported the men “surrendered and [were] taken to a ditch, where they were killed and their bodies quartered and set on fire”. The federal police had said in a statement on Wednesday they were still searching for Phillips and Pereira in what they described as a homicide investigation, following the arrest of two suspects in the case.
Reuters witnesses saw police take one of the suspects out on the river where the men vanished. Authorities wrongly told the family of Dom Phillips that his body had been found and the Brazilian ambassador to the UK has been forced to apologise in a letter.
Phillips, 57, and his travelling partner Bruno Pereira, 41, went missing in a remote part of the Amazon last week, with the family informed that their bodies has been found tied to trees in the rainforest.
According to reports in the Guardian, the family of Phillips received a call on June 13 to tell them of the discovery, but officials only suspected the bodies belonged to the missing men and never confirmed their identities. However, Phillips’ brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood, confirmed that ambassador Fred Arruda had written to the family to say the statement was incorrect.
Arruda said: “We are deeply sorry the embassy passed on to the family yesterday information that did not prove correct.” He went on to say the embassy had been “misled” by information it had received from “investigating officials”.
Arruda added: “The search operation will go on, with no efforts being spared. Our thoughts remain with Dom, Bruno, yourselves and the other members of both families.” Brazilian Federal Police said the latest development in the search for the two men was the discovery of their personal items.
In a statement, they said the objects included a backpack and a pair of boots belonging to Phillips, as well as a health card, black trousers, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Pereira. On June 11, separate reports emerged that police had discovered human matter in the River Itaquai, near Atalaia do Norte’s port.
Authorities previously said blood found on a suspect’s boat had been sent for analysis.
