A star footballer is to go on trial accused of torturing and killing his mistress, then feeding her dismembered body parts to his pet dogs.
Married Bruno Fernandes de Souza, 27, a goalkeeper once tipped to play for Brazil, is alleged to have turned model Eliza Samudio 'into a human sacrifice' to preserve his reputation after she gave birth to his love child.
He is already serving a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of assaulting and abducting Ms Samudio, 25, but will be tried for her murder later this year.
Prosecutors allege that Bruno planned Ms Samudio's kidnap and murder with eight others, including his wife Dayane, a teenage cousin and former detective Luiz Santos, all of whom have been charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and kidnapping.
The goalkeeper, who played for Brazilian club Flamengo, is said to have watched as Santos committed 'barbaric tortures' on Ms Samudio before helping the former detective dismember her body.
Parts of the woman's body are alleged to have been fed to Bruno's dogs while the rest was buried in concrete.
Bruno is accused of ordering his wife to tell people that his love child, who was four months old at the time of the killing, had been adopted by them from a poor relative.
It is also claimed that Bruno told police Ms Samudio was 'a whore who will not be missed by anyone'.
A Brazilian newspaper has reported that the prosecution at the trial will allege that Bruno attacked a supporter, smoked cannabis and attended orgies with fellow players.
Edson Moreira, a detective who investigated the case, told the Sunday Express: 'An idol like Bruno, from such a major team, has turned out to be a monster.
'We have witnesses who will testify that he turned this girl into a human sacrifice merely to try to protect his reputation.'
The trial is expected to hear that Bruno met Ms Samudio at a party held by a teammate.
'Unfortunately for her, they slept together that night and she later discovered she was pregnant,' Mr Moreira said. 'When she approached de Souza and told him he was the father, he became enraged.
Prosecutors will allege that Bruno planned Ms Samudio's murder after she told him she would take legal action to prove he was the father of her child.
In a statement to police, his cousin claimed that, led by Santos, they kidnapped Ms Samudio from a hotel in Rio de Janeiro on June 4, 2010.
He said they drove her some 220 miles to a property in Belo Horizonte which the footballer and his wife used occasionally as a weekend retreat, where Ms Samudio was tortured.
It is claimed that Santos played loud music on the stereo to drown out the woman's screams.
Bruno, whose contract with Flamengo has been suspended, also faces charges of kidnapping, hiding a body and forming a criminal gang with intent to murder.
He has maintained his innocence throughout, claiming he has a 'clear conscience'.
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