Authorities Acknowledge Missing Family Is Dead
Szczepaniks missing since December 2009
Police acknowledged Friday for the first time that three members of a missing Omaha family are dead. The Szczepaniks, Vanderlei, Jaqueline and their son Christopher, had not been seen or heard from for more than a year.
One of the three Brazilians arrested for the unauthorized use of the family's bank cards is now the only suspect in the triple murder.
At a news conference at the Douglas County Courthouse, attorney Don Kleine said he would seek the death penalty for 30-year-old Valdeir Goncalves-Santos, but the investigation is not over and more charges could be filed.
Goncalves-Santos was booked for three counts of first-degree murder.
The last time anyone heard from the Szczepaniks was December 17, 2009. After that, it was like they fell off the face of the earth.
Douglas County Attorney Kleine stated Friday afternoon what most people already believed, the Szczepaniks were murdered. “For many reasons we would like to find these victims, but we can proceed without them being found."
Kleine's murder case against Goncalves-Santos would be strengthened if he could provide jurors with the bodies and the cause of death, but bodies aren't critical. If or when the bodies are found, it would bring some sense of closure to the Szczepanik’s daughter Tatiane, who came from her home in Brazil shortly after the family disappeared.
One thing officials would not disclose was the manner of death. “We still have an ongoing investigation and so there are going to be details about that we specifically can't address at this point, so we are still conducting those parts of the investigation,” said Omaha Police Sgt. Teresa Negron.
For now, authorities have a theory of what happened to the Szczepaniks and enough evidence to proceed. Kleine said much of the information he could not release will come out during the court proceedings.
He was also asked about the other two Brazilians behind bars. Kleine would only say that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges could be coming.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/A...114832534.html
Bookmarks