Suzane Von Richthofen - Murder

Murder

In the late hours of October 31, 2002, Suzane von Richthofen, who had planned the murder of her parents for months, checked if they were already asleep, then disconnected the alarm system of the estate and opened the door to her 21-year-old-boyfriend, Daniel Cravinhos and his brother, 26-year-old Christian Cravinhos who had waited outside. The Cravinhos brothers went upstairs to the parents´ bedroom and hit them with iron sticks before strangling them with towels. Suzane was waiting in the living room downstairs. After the murder was accomplished, the three youngsters simulated a break-in by pocketing money they found, spreading papers in the library and creating a mess in the house. Then they left, Suzane and Daniel went for a motel, Christian went to a fast-food restaurant. Early in the Morning, Suzane and Daniel picked up her little brother, Andreas, then aged 15, at an internet cafe and went home, where they "discovered" the crime, called the police at once and told them their story.

The investigating officers, however, doubted a burglary crime and thought of someone familiar to the victims, soon began to question the children and the employees of the Richthofen family. What made them suspicious was not only the crime scene, with the alarm system switched off and the papers spread very regularly, as if by design, but also the extraordinary coolness of Suzane, who was seen in the house's swimming pool with Daniel the day after the murder, and who celebrated her 19th birthday with friends just hours after the parents´ burial. The investigators focused their attention on Suzane and her boyfriend and began shadowing them. The clue for the arrest came with Christian Cravinhos, who had bought a motorcycle a few days later and paid cash in 100-dollar bills. A few days later, on November 9, 2002 he was arrested, as well as his brother and Suzane, who soon confessed the murder. Suzane was released from prison in May 2005, when the Supreme Court of Justice granted her habeas corpus. She then awaited her trial in house arrest.