A former Brazilian senator was arrested Monday in connection with the murder of his former wife.

Police say Telmário Mota reportedly had Antônia Araújo, 52, shot dead on September 29 while she sat in her car in Boa Vista, Roraima.

Authorities are also searching for Mota’s nephew, Harrison Correa, who is suspected of helping him plot the crime. Leandro Luz, who is accused of shooting Araújo, was arrested Monday.

The murder took place just three days before Araújo was set to testify against Mota in court over an attempted rape complaint filed against the former senator by their daughter in August 2022.

The couple’s daughter, who was 17 years old at the time, accused Mota of trying to kiss her and touch her private parts inside his car during a Father’s Day meeting, charges that he had denied.

Former Brazilian senator Telmário Mota was apprehended Monday night in connection with the September 29 murder of his former wife

Former Brazilian senator Telmário Mota was apprehended Monday night in connection with the September 29 murder of his former wife

Antonia Araújo was shot dead three days before she was scheduled to attend a court hearing and testify against her ex-husband, former senator Telmário Mota, who had been accused of attempting to rape their daughter in 2022

Antonia Araújo was shot dead three days before she was scheduled to attend a court hearing and testify against her ex-husband, former senator Telmário Mota, who had been accused of attempting to rape their daughter in 2022

The Civil Police said that Mota’s advisor Cleidiane Gomes, who has not been charged, tracked Araújo’s and her daughter’s movements and relayed information to Mota, her former boss of 20 years.

She confessed that she also purchased a 38 caliber revolver for Mota in August and that she thought he was going to use it at his farm.

The Civil Police believes the firearm used to kill Araújo was a .380 or 9 mm caliber pistol. They have not located the gun that Gomes bought for Mota.

Investigators found that the motorcycle that was used in the murder had been purchased by Correa.

Gomes, who is wearing an ankle monitor under orders from a court judge, took the motorcycle to a mechanic and then handed it over to Correa and Luz the day before Araújo was shot.

‘For a criminal enterprise like this, it is required that the person who will act has a very close relationship and this was demonstrated,’ Civil Police chief João Evangelista said. ‘When she was questioned, she confirmed that she monitored the victim’s house, that she knew that the senator had a restraining order in place (due to his) relationship with his daughter, and (since) he couldn’t get closer, he needed someone else.’

Mota tried to evade police capture by boarding a commercial flight in Roraima to travel to Brasilia last Thursday. He then took a bus to the Goiás town of Nerópolis, where he was staying at a friend’s home, according to Nerópolis police chief André Fernandes.

Former senator Telmário Mota told police that he is innocent of charges that accuse him of orchestrating his former wife's murder

Former senator Telmário Mota told police that he is innocent of charges that accuse him of orchestrating his former wife’s murder

Telmário Mota served in the Brazilian senate from 2015 to 2023 and a councilman from 2007 to 2012

Telmário Mota served in the Brazilian senate from 2015 to 2023 and a councilman from 2007 to 2012

Authorities went to the home to serve an arrest warrant Monday morning and did not find him. They returned later in the evening and placed him under arrest.

Mota told officers on the scene that he was not involved in his Araújo’s murder.

‘He stated that he is innocent, that this version presented by the police is unfounded and there is no evidence,’ Fernandes said.

Mota, who entered the political world in 2005 and served as a senator for the state of Roraima from 2015 to 2023, is expected to be transferred to Goiânia, the capital city of Goiás, on Tuesday.

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