A man in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, succumbed to his injuries Friday after allegedly being set on fire by his wife, the Daily Mail reported.
André Chapeta, 50, passed away following an attack Monday which left him with burns covering 92 percent of his body, according to the Daily Mail. The incident took place when Ana María Paixaõ, Chapeta’s wife, allegedly spotted him sitting at a table in their fish market. Surveillance footage captured a sequence where Paixaõ appeared to reportedly douse Chapeta with a flammable liquid before igniting it, engulfing him in flames.
In an attempt to escape, Chapeta ran into the market’s stock room, still ablaze, per the Daily Mail. Chapeta was immediately rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment but could not overcome the severity of his injuries, per the outlet. The aftermath of the attack saw Paixaõ detained by police Thursday; however, she was released the same night due to a judge’s failure to sign an arrest warrant.
Brazil man dies after shocking video shows ‘wife setting him on fire in the middle of a store before watching him run out in flames’ https://t.co/15KpTMDTWJ pic.twitter.com/yFFr7acleH
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) December 8, 2023
Civil Police chief Flávio Ferreira believes the attack was fueled by jealousy, the Daily Mail reported. The couple’s 30-year relationship was reportedly riddled with domestic violence, according to Ferreira. Paixaõ claimed she had been a victim of assault prior to the incident and acted in self-defense. (RELATED: Model Purposely Set On Fire As She Walks At Paris Runway Show)
This assertion, however, was met with skepticism by investigators. Ferreira pointed out the contrast between Paixaõ’s claims and the surveillance footage. “What she says is not what the image shows. The image shows the victim sitting in a chair. She arrives, coldly, throws the liquid and sets him on fire,” Ferreira said.
“She was not at that moment in a vulnerable situation, she was not in a situation in which she would be imminently attacked,” the police chief added, per the Daily Mail. “On the contrary, as I said, he was sitting and posed no risk to her physical integrity at that moment.”