A 14-year-old schoolgirl was found dead and partially clothed in woodland near condoms and a blood-stained concrete block, after residents reported hearing a row and desperate cries
A 14-year-old girl has been found dead and partially clothed in a wooded area next to condoms after residents reported hearing desperate cries for help before her body was discovered.
The body of student Iasmyn Eckhardt da Silva was discovered in Foz do Iguacu, a city in the western part of Parana state near Brazil’s borders with Paraguay and Argentina, on June 14. A local resident found the teenager’s body on a plot of land near the junction of Avenida Sabia and Rua Sergio Gasparetto and alerted the authorities.
Military Police officers sealed off the area while forensic experts examined the scene. Investigators said Iasmyn had suffered severe injuries to her head and face and that the main line of inquiry was homicide.
Detective Marcelo Pereira Dias, who is leading the investigation, said the teenager was found in a wooded area showing signs of violence and without her clothing. He said a blood-stained piece of concrete was discovered close to the body, indicating that it may have been used in the attack.
According to the Scientific Police report, the cause of death was a traumatic brain injury caused by blunt force. Investigators were also examining whether a sexual offence may have been committed, based on the circumstances in which the teenager was found.
Evidence recovered at the scene, including condoms, was being analysed as part of the ongoing inquiry. Residents told police they heard an argument and cries for help during the early hours of June 14.
Witnesses also reported hearing a car and a motorcycle leaving the area shortly afterwards. Detectives said they were working to establish whether the vehicles were connected to the crime.
Iasmyn’s aunt, Elizani Rotela, said: “Iasmyn was brutally murdered, unfairly, if there can ever be a reason that justifies such a cruel crime against a girl who had her whole life ahead of her.” She added that family members were providing police with information about everything they knew regarding the events leading up to the teenager’s death.
Iasmyn, who would have celebrated her 15th birthday on 9th July, was taken to the Forensic Medical Institute before being released to her family. Her funeral took place on 15th June at the Municipal Sao Joao Batista Cemetery.
No arrests had been made at the time of reporting and police continued investigating both the motive for the killing and the identity of those responsible.
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