3 Brazilians Held in Suspected Cannibalism

Trio sold meat pies, too: police
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 16, 2012 2:19 AM CDT
Updated Apr 16, 2012 2:25 AM CDT
3 Brazilians Held in Suspected Cannibalism
The last character known to have sold suspicious meat pies was Sweeney Todd, plays in this scene by Johnny Depp.   (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)

A Brazilian man, his wife and his mistress have been arrested for suspected cannibalism. Police say the trio killed at least two women, ate part of their bodies, and made the rest into meat pies which they sold in their small town in northeast Brazil. Jorge Beltrao Negroponte, 51, admitted in a television interview yesterday that he listened to the voice in his head ordering him to eat parts of the women to "purify them," but he didn't say anything about the meat pies. "I did certain things for purification, to protect people and deliver them to God," he told SBT TV.

The suspects lured the victims to their home by advertising for a nanny, said authorities. Police showed up at the home when one of the trio used a credit card belonging to a missing women, reports CNN. When cops arrived, a 5-year-old girl in the house led them to human remains. They believe the girl is the daughter of a third missing woman, and that the trio may have murdered as many as 10 women. Negroponte's wife was known in town for her meat pies, which she sold to schools, hospitals and neighbors. (More Brazil stories.)

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