A 65-year-old man extensively researched how to carry out a horrific act against his partner, drawing inspiration from a notorious murder almost a century ago, investigators disclosed.
The man allegedly crafted numerous fake online personas to deceive young women, posing as attractive athletes to entice them, but his intentions turned increasingly malevolent.
Reportedly, he meticulously planned the murder of his partner, subsequently dismembering her body and discarding body parts in a suitcase left at a bus station, where he was captured on CCTV.
With a disturbing criminal record involving his own family, CNN Brazil reported that Ricardo Jardim, an advertising executive, had a previous conviction in 2018 for his mother’s murder, which he denied.
Although he confessed to concealing her body, claiming she had taken her own life, it is suspected that financial gain was his motive, with a potential payout of R$400,000 (£55,666) from his mother’s life insurance policy.
After engaging in a catfishing scheme and selecting his partner as the target, he purportedly drew inspiration from a chilling 1928 murder in São Paulo, where an Italian immigrant killed his wife, dismembered her, and hid the remains in a suitcase.
Attempting to access funds from his partner’s account, Brazilian investigators believe money once again motivated him to commit a violent act.
The advertising executive also used his partner’s phone to mislead her family into thinking she was alive, providing false information about her whereabouts.
Described by the Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul as having a “psychopathic profile,” Jardim is said to be highly educated and intelligent, executing his crimes with meticulous and calculated precision.
He allegedly planted false clues, utilized disguises, and employed AI to create fake profiles to ensnare victims, although it remains undisclosed if the victim in this case was targeted through his catfishing efforts.
The victim’s torso was discovered in a suitcase at Porto Alegre bus station, with a leg found at a beach and other limbs in the East Zone of the city.
Jardim tried to conceal his identity by wearing a cap, mask, glasses, and gloves while disposing of the body.
