Ruth Floriano and Alany Silva (Image: Military Police)
Ruth Floriano, 30, was arrested on Saturday (August 26) in Brazil on suspicion of murdering her nine-year-old daughter, Alany Silva. Parts of the child's dismembered body were found in the fridge - which had been moved to Floriano's new home in Sao Paulo after the alleged murder.
A judge has ordered that Floriana, a mother-of-three, be held in pre-trial detention as part of the investigation. Her two other children have been placed in the care of a city agency.
Civil Police say Floriano initially denied any knowledge of the murder. Questioned at the scene by Military Police, she claimed she had met a man on a dating app and invited him to her home in the east side of S？o Paulo about a month ago, said police.
Ruth Floriano initally denied killing her daughter, say police (Image: Military Police)
At first, Floriano claimed she and the man took drugs and slept together - and that Alany was already dead when she woke up. At that time, while she denied killing her daughter, Floriano did admit to placing the body parts in the fridge, said police.
However, once at the police station, Floriano changed her story and said that she had consumed drugs and made the decision to kill her daughter between August 8 and 9, said police. Alany's birthday was on August 6 – and police are investigating if she died before or after this date.
They say Floriano said she killed her daughter because Alany refused to accept being separated from her father, who has not yet been identified by the investigation, reports local media in Sao Paulo. It was the mother of Floriano's current boyfriend who found Alany's remains in the fridge.
Ruth Floriano is escorted away by police after her arrest (Image: Militray Police)
Floriano is accused of stabbing Alany while she was brushing her teeth. She is then alleged to then placed her daughter's remains in the refrigerator and to have then disposed of some of them in a nearby sewer. Floriano stabbed Alany in the chest and admitted to cooking a part of her remains, added police.
Floriano and her remaining children then moved to a new home in the city on August 15. She had the refrigerator wrapped with a sheet and ribbons, a removal man reportedly told the police. It was one of only three pieces of furniture that were moved to the new address, said the removal man.
Alany was Floriano's daughter from a previous relationship. She had, for a time, lived with her dad and his family before rejoining her mother - and police now want to trace him, reports Brazilian news outlet Globo.com.
Silva was Floriano's daughter from a prior relationship with a man
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