Soccer's wildest stories: The sickening tale of Bruno Fernandes de Souza - the Brazilian goalkeeper turned convicted murderer

Bruno had grown into one of Brazil’s best goalkeepers throughout a short career. Having played for Atletico Mineiro and Corinthians, a move to Flamengo heralded a bright future for a young 'keeper making his way in the South American country. Flamengo paid €3 million to sign him, and while he was initially the backup to Diego – their first-choice shot-stopper – he was given a chance after injury struck his team-mate down.

The Brazilian club had actually beaten Barcelona to his signature, and Bruno stole headlines after showing that he was as capable with his feet as he was his hands. He scored three free-kicks for the club, as well as a penalty, and he was even made the club’s captain.

In 2010, though, an investigation was launched into the disappearance and alleged murder of Eliza; Flamengo suspended Bruno, and withdrew their legal support for the player.

Just months prior, there had been rumours that he would be heading to the 2010 World Cup with Brazil, but he was not selected due to his on-field showboating, and penchant for taking set-pieces. Instead, he would end the year in prison.

Eliza’s dreams of becoming a model did not work out in Sao Paulo, and so she had to find separate ways to earn. While she did feature in a variety of fashion photoshoots, the bills were still not paid, and so she began starring in pornographic films.

In 2009, according to Bruno, he met Eliza at a barbecue and the pair had sex. Eliza subsequently left her fashion job to be with the soccer star, but he was married. While he claimed he would leave his wife, the relationship with Eliza came to a sudden end in the same year.

She announced she was pregnant, and would not be having an abortion, despite being pressured to by the stopper. Publicly, Fernandes claimed he was breaking off the relationship; that is not what happened.

The pair’s relationship was clearly volatile, and in October of 2009, a police report was filed by Eliza, claiming that Bruno and two of his friends, ‘Russo’ and ‘Macarrao’, kept her hostage. While she was imprisoned, she alleged that she was forced to take “abortive substances” at gunpoint and was beaten by the three men. Once DNA tests were completed, Eliza’s allegation was confirmed – she did have abortive substances in her urine, but the test results were only published after she had gone missing.

Subsequently, a restraining order was requested by Eliza to be placed on Bruno, prohibiting him from being within 300 metres of her, but it was denied. He also denied all allegations, claiming she was simply a fantasist.

He said: “It's not the first time she's made up this bunch of lies to try to harm me.”

Eliza petitioned Brazilian courts to be further protected from the goalkeeper, such was her trauma from the kidnapping. That was denied by a judge, who argued “the protection of the family” was vital; Eliza was five months pregnant at the time.

She gave birth in 2010 although at the time she was living with a friend. Bruno did not acknowledge that he was the father, although Eliza requested child support. She also claimed that she had been assaulted, and he was indicted once again.

Thus, there were multiple chances for the courts and the law to protect Eliza, but they failed to do so.

The details of Eliza’s murder are harrowing. Having requested child support, she was summoned to Bruno's farm, and driven there by two accomplices, named 'Spaghetti' and Jorge Sales, under the guise of negotiating a settlement. She would never be seen alive again.

Bruno claimed that she had left voluntarily and abandoned their child as a result; the infant was later found in a favela, having allegedly been left there by the goalkeeper’s wife.

Sales, who was 17 at the time, told police what happened. Per BBC Sport, Eliza was beaten before being taken to Bruno’s farm. Bruno was playing for Flamengo at the time, but he arrived the next night.

On June 10, she was driven away from the farm with her child, to a house in Belo Horizonte. There, she was strangled to death by Marcos Aparecido, a former police officer hired by Spaghetti – at Bruno’s behest – to carry out the murder. Her body was then quartered and her remains fed to dogs. She has never been found.

Bruno handed himself in on July 7, but maintained his innocence. He had not arranged the killing, merely heard about it from a friend, was his claim.

Police searched for Eliza but were unable to find her, and in the meantime, custody of the infant was granted to her mother. DNA tests subsequently confirmed Bruno’s paternity, but the trial was delayed until 2013 as the defence scrambled for evidence that would prove the goalkeeper’s innocence.

Eventually, on March 8, 2013, Bruno was sentenced to 22 years in prison, as was Marcos Aparecido. Macarrao was sentenced to 15 years for jailing and murdering Eliza and for concealing a corpse. Yet Bruno would serve just six years and seven months, as his lawyers filed a motion of Habeus Corpus, amid delays over an appeal request, and he was subsequently let out of prison in February 2017.

Immediately after his release, Bruno was, sickeningly, inundated with offers from Brazilian clubs. He signed for second-division side BOA Esporte Clube, but never played, as in April 2017, he was ordered to be returned to prison, as his lawyers were found to be at fault for the delay.

In 2019, Bruno was, however, allowed to return home, as he was simply placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. Initially, Varginha Prison had intended to have the goalkeeper leave only in the day, and return at night, but this proved unworkable, and as a result, he was allowed to be placed at home permanently.

While on house arrest, amazingly, Rio Branco – a club in Brazil’s fourth tier - signed Bruno. It came at great financial cost, with nearly all their sponsors subsequently backing out of their agreements. He did play for the club, too, but it caused great pain to Eliza’s family, particularly her mother, Sonia.

She said, per the BBC: "He committed a heinous crime and it's absurd that he can now become an idol for children and teenagers. Courts allow him all his wishes, while I can't even find my daughter's remains.”

Bruno went on to officially announce his retirement from soccer in 2021, and looked to pursue a career as an investor. However, his name will always be associated with one of the darkest stories in Brazilian sports history.