A Brazilian friend of the slain digital marketer described her as a “wonderful person” whose life “was cut short by an evil man.”
Priscila Lacerda Custodio, 24, was fatally shot Friday at the São Paulo ranch of João Roberto Bolelli, 62, after telling him during a phone call that she was ending their four-month relationship, according to a friend who spoke to Globo. The friend, who was not identified by name, said Custodio had grown terrified of the cattle rancher in the weeks before her death.
Custodio had asked her brother and a friend to accompany her to the ranch that day because she feared Bolelli, the friend told the outlet. She needed to return a pickup truck she had been using. The trio never made it inside together; Custodio and Bolelli argued by phone before she arrived, and she told him she had finally had enough.
Bolelli allegedly opened fire when Custodio reached the property, striking her in the chest and arm. He then pointed the weapon at her brother and chased him before fleeing, according to the report.
Juliana Amaral, who had known Custodio for three years, spoke to Globo about her friend’s character.
“She was beautiful, charming, and extremely polite,” Amaral said. “In three years of friendship, I never saw her speak badly of anyone.”
The unidentified friend who also spoke to Globo outlined a pattern of controlling and threatening behavior that had escalated rapidly. Bolelli had hired people to watch Custodio, threatened to kill her, and interrogated her about trips while accusing her of infidelity. He allegedly assaulted her just four days before the shooting.
Bolelli’s history of violence against women extends beyond this case. He was previously convicted of breaching protective orders obtained by a different former partner and sentenced to three months and 15 days in prison in December 2021. He had also been banned from seeing that ex at an earlier point.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Bolelli, and authorities are treating Custodio’s killing as femicide. A legal representative told Globo that the case was being reviewed but that the suspect had not been in touch.
