Ronnie Lessa confesses to killing councilor Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro in 2018
Lula’s government announced that the former police officer is collaborating with the investigation but, as the case is under seal, no further details were given
The man accused of the 2018 murder of Marielle Franco, 38, a leftist city councilor of Rio de Janeiro, has confessed to the police in exchange for having his prison sentence reduced, as revealed on Tuesday night by the Brazilian government. He is a former military police officer turned hitman named Ronnie Lessa, who has been behind bars due to the case for five years. The content of the confession is still under seal, but authorities claim it is crucial to discovering who ordered Franco’s murder. Resolving the case is one of the top priorities for Brazil’s political left.
Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski appeared in a hurry on Tuesday to announce that the alleged murderer’s confession had been approved by the judge. In other words, details of Lessa’s testimony have been cross-referenced with other sources and the story fits. “We know that this confession, which is a means of obtaining evidence, provides very important elements, which leads us to believe that we will soon have an answer to the murder of Councilwoman Marielle Franco,” he stated.
Since its first day in office, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been under pressure to solve the case. There was little hope of such an outcome during the government of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, whose family had a relationship with Lessa. The hitman hopes that in exchange for confessing who commissioned him to kill Franco, he will be able to combine several sentences and receive between 20 and 30 years in prison, according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
There is pressure on Lula from civil society and also from the Cabinet, as the president appointed Anielle Franco, the councilor’s younger sister, to the position of Minister of Racial Equality. Since the murder, many police commissioners, prosecutors and judges have taken up the case. There are numerous theories and multiple suspects have been identified as the masterminds, but the only truly relevant development was the arrest, in 2019, of the alleged shooter and another military police officer, Elcio Queiroz, who was accused of driving the car used in the attack.
Marielle was murdered on the night of March 14, 2018, while in a car in the center of Rio. The driver was killed too. The politician’s press officer was sitting next to her in the back seat, but miraculously survived. They were shot from a car that pulled up next to them. Lessa was considered one of the best shooters in the Rio Military Police.
It was surprising for the minister to call a press conference to report on an important but still procedural matter, in a case that is under seal. But the Cabinet is under pressure from President Lula to provide good news to Brazilians after the latest polls found that the government’s approval rate is slipping.
Lessa is imprisoned in Campo Grande, in a maximum security prison 870 miles from Rio. The man accused of carrying out the murder with him was also imprisoned there, but he was transferred to Rio after offering to collaborate with the police and confessing. Now he is set to be followed by Lessa, who is accused of pulling the trigger.
After the justice minister’s press conference, Franco’s widow, Mônica Benício — who followed her wife’s example and is now a councilor in Rio — posted: “We want concrete answers. I hope that the next press conference will be to make a concrete statement that is truly committed to justice.”
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