A Brazilian congresswoman accused of masterminding the murder of her pastor husband was arrested Friday after being stripped of her parliamentary immunity in a real-life soap opera that has gripped the entire country.
Flordelis dos Santos de Souza was charged with the murder of Anderson de Carmo last year, along with 10 other co-conspirators. De Carmo, a popular evangelical pastor, was shot 30 times in the garage of his home in 2019.
Flordelis is herself a former evangelical pastor and gospel superstar, who rose to national fame after adopting dozens of orphans, who lived with the couple at their Rio de Janeiro home. The couple raised more than 50 children over the years, according to reports.
Prosecutors allege that de Carmo was killed by Flordelis’ son on her orders with a gun purchased by one of the couple’s adopted children.
On Friday, television images showed Flordelis clutching a bible as she was escorted into a police car outside her home. The arrest came after 437 of 513 members of the lower house of the Brazilian congress voted to strip her of her immunity.
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