Goalkeeper convicted of murdering his girlfriend back playing in Brazil

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 Feb 2026 06:38 CST
• 5 min read

Nieuws

A Brazilian goalkeeper who murdered his girlfriend and was sentenced to 22 years in prison is back playing football in his homeland and could soon feature in the prestigious Copa do Brasil tournament.

In 2013, Bruno Fernandes das Dores de Souza, known as Goleiro Bruno or Bruno Fernandes, was sentenced to 22 years in jail for the murder and torture of his girlfriend Eliza Samudio.

He was released having served six years and seven months of his sentence. Now he is back playing football.

The disappearance of Eliza Samudio

In 2009, Eliza Samudio filed a complaint with police, saying that she had been imprisoned by Bruno and two of his friends "Russo" and "Macarrão" and accused the trio of beating her.

At the time, Bruno released a statement saying:

"It's not the first time she's made up this bunch of lies to try to harm me. The other time she didn't prove anything and she won't prove it again, because she made up this whole story. It got to the point where, yesterday, I sent an email to some newspaper offices in Rio saying that I missed Flamengo training because I was with her. But I attended both morning and afternoon practices, as all the journalists present could confirm. That's why I decided that I'm only going to speak through my lawyer, who will take all the necessary measures to prevent her from continuing to try to harm me. She doesn't conform because I've already made it clear that I don't want any kind of relationship with her. I'm not going to give this girl the 15 minutes of fame she so desperately craves."

Judge Ana Paula Delduque Migueis Laviola de Freitas denied Samudio's request for protection.

In February of 2010, Samudio's child was born. She alleged that Bruno was the father, which was subsequently confirmed, but the footballer denied paternity.

Four months later, Samudio and Bruno met at his farm in Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais, under the pretence that he would be negotiating continuing child support. She disappeared during this time, according to official police reports.

With Samudio gone, her child was found in a favela in Ribeirão das Neves.

🚨GLOBO:

Bruno Fernandes who murdered his girlfriend, cut her body up, and fed parts of her body to dogs is registered to play in the Copa Do Brasil for Vasco-AC.

The goalkeeper who was sentenced to 22 years in prison (did not serve the full time) is expected to play tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/zZo7wYs6Jc

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) February 19, 2026

Bruno named as a suspect

Later that month, Bruno was officially named as a suspect in her disappearance. At the start of July, Bruno's 17-year-old cousin confessed to knocking Samudio out with the butt of a gun and delivering her to drug dealers, who dismembered her and fed some body parts to dogs, on Bruno's orders.

Her bones were then buried under concrete, though the above story was not confirmed by police investigations.

In November of 2012, Bruno, along with a string of alleged accomplices, went on trial for various crimes, including murder and kidnapping.

In March 2013, he was found guilty of triple‑qualified homicide of Eliza Samudio, plus kidnapping/false imprisonment and hiding the body, and received a total sentence a little above 22 years.

Long before the trial took place, his contract with Flamengo was terminated.

Bruno claims: I'm not a bad guy

Bruno served just six years and seven months of his prison sentence and was released on a petition of habeas corpus because of the slow processing of an appeal request. Not long after his release, he was given a contract to return to football by Boa Esporte Clube and that caused major uproar in Brazil - by no one more than Samudio's family.

Bruno said, as quoted by The Guardian:

"What happened, happened. I made a mistake, a serious one, but mistakes happen in life - I'm not a bad guy. People tried to bury my dreams because of one mistake, but I asked God for forgiveness, so I'm carrying on with my career, dude."

Major sponsors terminated their contracts with Boa Esporte but he only played for them a handful of times before returning to prison, as his defence lawyers were part of the reason the appeal process took so long.

In July of 2019, he was granted partial house-arrest which allowed him to work or train during the day and stay at home at night.

He played for Pocos de Caldas, Rio Branco, Atletico Carioca before announcing his retirement.

He abandoned his retirement to sign for SC Capixaba in 2023 but his contract was terminated after he complained about club facilities.

Most recently, he was named in the squad for Vasco-AC’s Copa do Brasil fixtures in what is undoubtedly the highest-profile competition he may compete in since being charged with the murder.