Following the death of an elderly couple in Planalto Norte de Santa Catarina, civil police believe the motive for the crime was financial. Therefore, now the investigation wants to trace the banking route of the main suspect in the crime: Marcelo Lerner, the son of the victims.

The couple was 63 and 68 years old – Photo: Personal archive

This is because, according to delegate Eduardo de Mendonça, after the victims had already been killed, about 17,000 reais were transferred to their bank accounts after death. It has now been confirmed that the suspect used his parents’ card to make purchases. In addition, R$4,000 in cash was found during his arrest.

The delegate in charge of the case wants to confirm that all financial transactions were carried out by the son. The police have already asked the bank to send information about the addresses of the ATMs used to service the accounts, and from there check the video recordings to ensure that they were made by Marcelo.

“[O suspeito] has debts in his name, and there has been a large financial movement in the victims’ accounts. We’re still not entirely sure it was him. We photographed the places where he bought with the card and the purchases were made by him,” says the delegate.

Remember the elderly

Ivo Romano Lerner, 63, and Rita Zanelle, 68, disappeared on Sunday, October 22, in the Porto União region. Four days later the bodies were found buried on the couple’s own land in Matos Costas, a neighboring municipality.

Family and friends were searching for the elderly and found traces of blood in the bathroom of the couple’s home. However, the property was in order.

Even during the searches, it was noted that the ground behind the couple’s property looked “disturbed.” After excavating the site, two plastic bags were found buried, with two elderly people inside.

The main suspect in the crime is the couple’s son. Civil police are still investigating the motive and cause of death. The police chief initially believes that the elderly were killed after being shot, since the man had gunshot marks on his head and the woman on her chest. The examination must still confirm the thesis.