Woman Found Stabbed To Death And Stuffed In Fridge At Home Of Her Toy Boy Lover

A 59-year-old woman has been found stabbed to death and stuffed inside a refrigerator by her 19-year-younger partner, who later confessed to the killing.

The grim discovery was made in Montanha, in the northern part of Espirito Santo state, on Friday, 21st August.

Benedita de Jesus Rodrigues was found in a sitting position inside the refrigerator, wrapped in a black plastic bag, after she had been missing for around a week.

Her partner, Silas Santos Fontoura, 40, was arrested in Sao Mateus, around 120 kilometres from where Benedita was killed, on Tuesday 25th August.

Benedita and Fontoura were both originally from Nanuque, in neighbouring Minas Gerais state, and began their relationship in August 2025.

Fontoura had moved to Montanha to work in the coffee harvest and rented the property where Benedita would visit him.

Police said Benedita's daughter had told investigators that Fontoura had previously attacked her mother with a screwdriver.

The daughter also said she last spoke to Benedita by telephone on Saturday, 15th August, and noticed that her mother sounded frightened after hearing Fontoura's voice.

During that call, Benedita told her daughter that she and Fontoura were getting back together.

The daughter tried to contact her again on Monday, 17th August, but Benedita did not respond and her profile picture then disappeared from WhatsApp.

The family was preparing to travel from Nanuque to Montanha to look for her when her death was confirmed.

The property owner had also become suspicious after neither Benedita nor Fontoura had been seen by neighbours.

He broke down the door of the house and found the refrigerator closed and facing towards the wall.

When he opened it, he discovered the black bag containing Benedita's body.

Forensic officers found multiple puncture wounds caused by a bladed weapon on different parts of her body.

Police said Fontoura resisted arrest and got into a physical struggle with officers before being restrained and handcuffed.

During the journey to the police station, Fontoura confessed to killing Benedita, although he did not give details about his motive.

The arrest came after police exchanged information between stations in the region and monitored possible locations where Fontoura could have fled.

He was eventually found at accommodation in Guriri, where he was staying with other workers hired for the coffee harvest.

Police also discovered that Fontoura already had a preventive arrest warrant dating back to August 2025 over a separate homicide in Mucuri, Bahia.

Authorities said residents there were afraid of his aggressive behaviour, with police claiming he had threatened people with a knife.

Police said even Fontoura's father had been threatened with a knife and feared his son.

Regional police superintendent Arthur Bogoni described Fontoura as "extremely violent" and said his previous homicide in Bahia had also involved a bladed weapon.

Bogoni said: "He had already committed a homicide with a bladed weapon in Bahia, and his own father had been threatened with death by him and was afraid of being killed by his own son."

Fontoura is facing charges of femicide and concealing a corpse over Benedita's death, while the investigation into the circumstances and motive continues.

(Marija Stojkoska/Newsflash)