This heartbreaking footage shows a teenage girl singing before she was allegedly tortured and kept tied to a bed for weeks by her father and stepmother until she starved to death.
The case unfolded in Porto Velho, in the Brazilian state of Rondonia, where police announced on 3rd March that the girl’s father, Callebe José da Silva, and stepmother, Ivanice Farias de Souza, will be indicted for femicide.
Authorities said the pair will also face charges of torture resulting in death, false imprisonment, mistreatment and failure to provide assistance.
The victim, Marta Isabelle dos Santos, 16, was found dead on a bed inside the house where she lived with the suspects on 24th February.
Police said she was discovered lying under a sheet and wearing a disposable diaper.
An initial forensic report found she was severely malnourished, with exposed bones, wounds infested with larvae and injuries indicating she had been immobilised for days before her death.
Police spokesperson Leisaloma Carvalho said the case is being treated as femicide because the killing allegedly occurred in a context of domestic and family violence.
Investigators said the teenager had been kept imprisoned inside the house and subjected to repeated abuse over a prolonged period.
Marta Isabelle dos Santos Silva poses with her father and her stepmother, undated. She died in Porto Velho, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (Newsflash)
According to police, the father and stepmother allegedly tied the girl up with wires, forced her to eat food scraps and denied her drinking water and basic hygiene.
Despite her worsening condition and wounds containing larvae, she was never taken for medical treatment.
Investigators said the father removed the teenager from school nearly three years ago, claiming she would be transferred to the northeastern state of Paraiba, a move police believe helped isolate her from relatives and friends.
Police said the punishments initially began in a less severe form but escalated over time.
Marta Isabelle dos Santos Silva poses with her father, undated. She died in Porto Velho, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (Newsflash)
Around two months before her death, investigators believe the situation worsened dramatically and the teenager was kept tied by the wrists and immobilised on a bed, without proper food or hygiene and subjected to frequent assaults.
Carvalho said the girl was reportedly punished for a range of reasons, sometimes without any clear justification, and police said her father also cut her hair as a form of punishment.
Authorities are also investigating if the teenager may have been a victim of sexual abuse.
The father, stepmother and the girl’s paternal grandmother, Benedita Maria da Silva, were arrested and remain in custody as the investigation continues.
Family members said Marta Isabelle, known to relatives as “Martinha”, enjoyed singing at church and dreamed of finishing her studies and building a future.
(Aloysius Fernandes /Newsflash)