A sick female law student who is accused of taking pleasure in killing allegedly fatally poisoned four people in a five-month-long murder spree.
The ‘extremely manipulative’ Brazilian woman, Ana Paula Veloso Fernandes, 36, is said to have premeditated the horrific acts as she admitted to killing 10 dogs in order to test the strength of the poison before using it on her victims.
The first victim is believed to be Marcelo Fonseco, who was allegedly murdered in Guarulhos in January.
Fernandes had moved into his home pretending to be a renter, but within four days he had been poisoned and his body left to decompose.
The alleged killer then went on to meet Maria Aparecida Rodrigues on a dating app in April, who was eventually found dead after having coffee at Fernandes’ home.
Police say she attempted to frame her ex-boyfriend, a military officer, by forging notes and making a supposedly poisoned cake.
Investigators claim she was helped to by her twin sister Roberta Cristina Veloso Fernandes and friend Michelle Paiva da Silva, 43.
Fernandes’ motivations remain unclear as top police chief chief Halisson Ideiao said: ‘Ana Paula takes pleasure in killing. Her motivation doesn’t really matter – she wants to kill.’
Ana Paula Veloso Fernandes, 36, a law student who ‘takes pleasure in killing’, allegedly fatally poisoned four people in a five-month-long murder spree
The ‘extremely manipulative’ Brazilian woman premeditated the horrific acts as she admitted to killing 10 dogs in order to test the strength of the poison before using it on her victims
He added she was the last to be seen with each victim and the first to call police, while she deployed different strategies to get close to them.
She is also accused of making a poisoned stew which she used to kill a 65-year-old man.
Fernandes was hired by da Silva, her classmate at the time, to kill her father Neil Correia da Silva for £540 (4000 Brazilian Real).
The fourth death is that of a 21-year-old Tunisian man she had been romantically involved with.
Fernandes reported Hayder Mhazres’ death in May following a break up where she then faked a pregnancy and allegedly poisoned him with a milkshake after he rejected her.
Police Chief Ideiaho described the accused serial killer was ‘extremely manipulative’.
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.’
The alleged killer met Maria Aparecida Rodrigues on a dating app in April, who was eventually found dead after having coffee at Fernandes’ home
The fourth death is that of 21-year-old Hayder Mhazres, who had been romantically involved with Fernandes
In a raid of her home officers found a banned pesticide similar to rat poison, known as terbufos.
It is believed the 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.
Fernandes, her twin sister and da Silva have all been arrested.
The investigation continues as police await toxicology results from the exhumed bodies.
