Brazilian Teenager
Confesses To 13 Murders
A teenaged boy has
confessed to 13 murders
in Brazil's southeastern
state of Espirito Santo,
the "Folha de Sao Paulo"
newspaper reported
Thursday.
The 14-year-old was
arrested for drug
trafficking Tuesday on
the outskirts of the
state's capital Vitoria.
On Wednesday, he
confessed to having been
a member of an
international drug
trafficking ring since
he was 12 and killing
13people.
The first murder
occurred in 2006, said
the boy, when he shot
his victim 15 times. The
other 12 murders were
said to have been
committed in the last
five months, most of
them ordered by a drug
dealer called Betinho,
who controls the illegal
drug trade in Vitoria.
The police chief in
charge of the
investigation said he
was struck by the boy's
apparent calmness.
If convicted, he could
face a sentence of up to
three years according to
Brazilian law.
But Julia Deptulski, a
sociologist from the
National Council for the
Rights of Children and
Teenagers, warned that
the confession might be
false.
She said the boy might
be taking the blame for
other people, as his
status as a minor
assures him of a lighter
punishment.
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