RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – DECEMBER 28, 1992 Daniella Perez was a successful Brazilian actress and dancer. At just 22 years old, she was one of the most popular faces on Brazilian television. Some media even referred to her as the “nation’s darling”. At the time of her death, she played the leading female role of Yasmin in the telenovela De Corpo e Alma, which was directed by her mother – the well-known screenwriter Glória Perez.
In the telenovela, she had an acting partner – 23-year-old Guilherme de Pádua, who portrayed her lover Bira. Off camera, however, there was strong tension between them. Pádua and his 19-year-old wife Paula Thomaz began to be paranoid and believed that Daniella had a direct influence on Pádua’s acting roles. Paula was also very jealous of the romantic scenes in the show.
Pádua and his wife devised a murder plan. On December 28, 1992, after filming at the TV Globo studios in Rio de Janeiro, they followed Daniella to a remote gas station, where they lured her into their car. They took her to an isolated area in Barra da Tijuca, where they brutally attacked her. Pádua first knocked her unconscious with strong blows to the face. Then he and Paula stabbed her 18 times with scissors in the chest and neck area. Her corpse was found later that evening.
The couple was quickly arrested by police and there was no difficulty in convicting them. They gave contradictory statements and there was a lot of evidence against them, including several witnesses and bloodstains on their clothes. Both were charged with a crime of passion connected to jealousy and personal ambition. In 1997, both were sentenced to 19 years in prison. In reality, they served only a fraction of that – Pádua about 7 years and Thomaz 6 years.
The case greatly shocked the Brazilian public due to the brutality of the crime, but especially because the murderers were also the victim’s colleagues. Public interest, thanks to her popularity and the fact that her mother was a prominent figure in the television world, was enormous. It even surpassed the coverage of political events including the impeachment of the president, which took place on the same day.
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