Brazilian GK convicted of killing girlfriend and feeding her to dogs: 'I made a mistake'
Brazilian goalkeeper Bruno Fernandes de Souza recently signed with Boa Esporte despite being convicted in 2013 of killing his girlfriend and feeding her to dogs.
Souza, 32, is currently appealing his 22-year sentence. He was convicted along with two other men and an ex-girlfriend. After she was strangled, the victim's body was cut up and the pieces were fed to dogs.
In a recent interview with ESPN Brazil, Souza said that he's "not a bad guy" and that he "made a mistake."
"Mistakes happen in life, especially when you're around people where money and fame blind you. It's not that what people say does not hurt," Souza said. "It hurts, it hurts and I am accustomed to dealing with the pressure."
Souza's girlfriend went missing after she sued the goalkeeper for child support. He was married and denied the child was his, but DNA tests later showed he was wrong.
"The person who leaves the world where I was and asks for an opportunity does not become a bad guy. I’m not a bad guy. I made a mistake. Was it a serious one? It was serious. My family suffered a lot from that," Souza said. "I have made many people around me suffer and now in the most difficult moment of my life they have stayed with me."
Souza was also asked about repentance.
"Dude, what happened, happened. You have to repent of the things of the past and become a better person. It's not because you're deep in the pit that you have to stay there, no. If you have people reaching for you, you have to climb," he said. "But how to serve a sentence if I was a temporary prisoner? I think so, just as justice has been done against me, an hour has to be done in my favor, too."
Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello recently ordered Souza's release after more than four years, holding that Souza couldn't be indefinitely detained while he waits for his appeal. Souza could return to prison if the higher court rejects his appeal.
