New Arrests in Brazil Bridge Murder Case Raise Hopes of Finding Missing Camera
Brazilian authorities have arrested three additional suspects in the shocking death of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, a 21-year-old student who was thrown from a 40-meter-high bridge without a safety rope during a rope jump activity in Limeira, São Paulo. The new arrests, made on June 20, have reignited hopes that investigators may finally recover a missing GoPro camera believed to contain crucial evidence of the fatal incident.
The Tragedy
On June 13, 2026, Maria Eduarda — known to friends as “Duda” — arrived at the Ponte do Esqueleto (Skeleton Bridge), an abandoned railway bridge on the border between Limeira and Cordeirópolis, for a rope jump session organized by an informal company called Entre Cordas. According to G1, she paid 180 Brazilian reais (approximately €30) for the experience.
Witnesses reported that bystanders shouted “The rope, guys, the rope!” seconds before the instructors launched her from the platform. The thick main safety cable remained coiled on the floor, unused. Maria Eduarda fell 40 meters to the ground. A nurse who was waiting to jump, Rayza Gabrieli Dias Delfino, climbed down and administered first aid, but Maria Eduarda died at the scene despite resuscitation efforts.
The Missing Camera
A GoPro camera had been attached to Maria Eduarda to record the jump — an additional service costing 110 reais. Witness Rafael Goulard reported seeing a staff member remove the camera from the victim’s body while she lay on the ground. According to G1, Goulard said: “The first thing I remember is that one of the employees took the GoPro camera from the body that was already on the ground. Was the man worried about the equipment, about hiding evidence, or about its financial value?”
The camera has not been recovered despite extensive police searches. Investigators believe it could definitively establish who was responsible for the safety failure and what exactly happened in the final moments on the platform.
The Six Suspects
Three instructors were arrested on the day of the incident: Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff (32), co-owner of Entre Cordas; Maicon Fernandes Cintra (42); and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves (27). They were charged with homicide under the legal concept of “dolo eventual” — equivalent to intentional homicide, arguing they consciously accepted the risk of death through extreme negligence. The court has denied their habeas corpus request.
On June 20, police arrested three more individuals on temporary five-day warrants: Evelyne dos Santos Gonçalves (29), the company boss arrested in Rio de Janeiro; an unnamed 25-year-old man from Limeira who worked below the bridge unhooking jumpers; and an unnamed 27-year-old man from Indaiatuba who worked on the bridge pulling the rope back up. They are suspected of evidence tampering, including the disappearance of the camera and other digital evidence.
Lead investigator Delegada Andréa Levy stated: “During the course of the investigations, elements were gathered that indicate possible suppression of relevant evidence, especially related to the disappearance of the image capture equipment used by the victim during the jump.”
Legal Debate
The classification of the crime has sparked debate among Brazilian legal experts. While police have charged the instructors with “dolo eventual” (intentional homicide through assumed risk), some criminal lawyers argue the case should be treated as negligent homicide (culposo). Defense attorney Rafael Gomes dos Santos called the incident a “sad fatality,” noting that rope jumping is not regulated in Brazil — it is neither specifically prohibited nor subject to safety standards.
Systemic Failures
The tragedy has exposed multiple safety failures. The organizing companies, Entre Cordas and Ih Voei, were not officially registered. There was no fixed task assignment for safety checks, no independent double-check of equipment, and approximately 100 paying participants created chaotic conditions. The Ponte do Esqueleto itself — a 30-year-old abandoned federal railway bridge — had no safety infrastructure or oversight, despite previous warnings from local authorities.
Political Fallout
The Limeira city government has announced it will sue the federal government for negligence, arguing that federal authorities were exclusively responsible for maintaining and controlling access to the bridge. The city has already begun closing access to the Ponte do Esqueleto by digging a trench.
What’s Next
Investigators are working against the clock to recover the missing camera before the temporary detention of the three new suspects expires. If found, the footage could provide definitive answers about what happened on that platform. The case continues to draw international attention and may accelerate calls for regulation of extreme sports activities in Brazil, where rope jumping currently operates in a complete legal vacuum.
As the investigation unfolds, the central question remains: will the missing camera finally reveal the truth about Maria Eduarda’s final moments?