Sentenced to 22 years in prison for the triple murder of model Eliza Samudio, which occurred in 2010, goalkeeper Bruno, 41, returned to play on the national Brazilian football scene this Thursday (19).
The player debuted for Vasco-AC in a match against Velo Clube, in the first phase of the Copa do Brasil. The match ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time and was decided on penalties, with the São Paulo team winning 3-2. Bruno saved two charges and converted his shot, but did not prevent the Acre team from falling.
The classified team will face Vila Nova-GO at home in the second phase and will receive a prize of R$830,000.
A former Flamengo player, the club he defended at the time of the crime, Bruno played as a starter. The Acre team, however, was missing four athletes who are in prison: Erick Luiz Serpa Santos Oliveira, Matheus Silva, Brian Peixoto Henrique Iliziario and Alex Pires Júnior. They are being investigated for the rape of two women last Friday (13), in Rio Branco.
Erick has been in preventive detention since Sunday (15). The others presented themselves to the police on Tuesday (17), underwent a custody hearing and were temporarily detained.
Speaking to the g1 portal, lawyer Atevaldo Santana stated that the players deny the accusations and maintain that the relationship was consensual. According to him, they are all first-time offenders, of legal age and with no criminal record.
The complaint was registered at the Specialized Women’s Assistance Police Station (Deam). In a statement, the Associação Desportiva Vasco da Gama (AC) informed that it adopted internal administrative measures to investigate the case and that it is available to the authorities.
Before the match, Bruno posed for a photo alongside players from the Acre team who displayed shirts with the names of the investigated athletes.
This is the goalkeeper’s second spell in Acre football. In 2020, he played for Rio Branco, the club for which he played in the second round of the Campeonato Acreano and Série D of the Campeonato Brasileiro.
The period was also marked by controversies. After the signing was announced, a supermarket chain in the capital of Acre suspended its sponsorship of the club, and then coach Rose Costa, who would work with women’s football, left the team.
In September 2020, Bruno was forced to wear an electronic ankle bracelet. Later, he obtained an injunction that authorized the removal of the equipment during training and games.
The goalkeeper was convicted of the crimes of murder, concealment of a corpse, kidnapping and false imprisonment of Eliza Samudio, with whom he had a son, Bruninho Samudio — now a goalkeeper for Botafogo’s youth teams.
Arrested in 2013, three years after the crime, he progressed to the semi-open regime in 2019 and has been on parole since January 2023.
