The Witches of Guaratuba: Black Magic, Child Sacrifice and a Deadly Plot | #470

Suruthi Bala (0:09)

Hello, I know this isn't how we normally start an episode, but it is October. It's the first week of October.

Hannah Maguire (0:15)

I was like, oh, what is she going to say? Like, I haven't been briefed.

Suruthi Bala (0:19)

What is she going to do?

No, nothing crazy today, just welcoming everybody to our favorite month here at RedHanded HQ. It is, of course, spooky season. It is October, so we're going to do what we do every year. We're going to be pulling out some of the weirdest, spookiest, creepiest stories we can to keep you entertained this festive season. And we're kicking off in Brazil today, which is fun, but also kind of not fun because there's a lot of words to pronounce today.

Hannah Maguire (0:51)

I am very scared.

Suruthi Bala (0:52)

It's our own nightmare.

Hannah Maguire (0:54)

This is truly a horror show for me. I'm sweating.

Suruthi Bala (0:59)

I was practicing this morning, but it's going to be rough and I can only apologize. Everything is attempted. We actually have an entire pronunciation glossary today, but I'm scared.

Hannah Maguire (1:10)

It is the opinion of some people that we don't try. We really do, I promise. I understand why it sounds like we're like, oh, fucking whatever. But I promise this consumes me. Like this occupies a lot of my mental space, my inability to pronounce words correctly. But you know what? It's statistically impossible for us to get it right all the time.

Suruthi Bala (1:28)

And also, look, if we were just scared of doing these pronunciations, we would never do any cases outside of the English-speaking world.

Hannah Maguire (1:35)

That is a fair point.

Suruthi Bala (1:36)

So let's do it. Let's get into it. In April 1992, a six-year-old boy vanished on his way home from school in the picturesque seaside town of Guaratuba, Brazil. Five days later, little Evandro's mutilated body was found dumped in woodland, missing his eyes, hands, and even his heart.

And right on cue, the satanic panic alarm started blaring at full blast, with the angry mob's torches illuminating a black magic human sacrifice ritual, allegedly orchestrated by the mayor's own wife and daughter, and tied to a sinister web of missing children across the state. But with whispers of confessions made under torture, political rivalries, and police corruption, was this twisted tale the full story? Or were there even darker forces at work? I'm Saruti.

Hannah Maguire (2:28)

I'm Hanna.

Suruthi Bala (2:29)

And this is RedHanded.

Hannah Maguire (2:31)

Now, Guaratuba might not seem like the obvious location for a spooky witchy story.

Once a humble fishing town, it's now a vibrant tourist spot on Brazil's southern coastline, known for its stunning beaches, attracting day trippers from the nearby metropolis of Curitiba, which is the capital, the Paraná state. It's the kind of place that you would associate more with sunbathing than hell raising. Back in 1992, it was home to six-year-old Evandro Ramos Caetano. Evandro came from an ordinary middle-class family. His dad, Edemir, worked for the city council, and his mom, Maria, had a job at the local school. On Monday, the 6th of April, 1992, after his mom, Maria, left for work early, little Evandro made himself a simple breakfast and joined her at the Olga Silveira school, just 100 meters from their home. It was a normal day for them. Evandro had lessons in the afternoons, but would regularly spend the mornings hanging out with his mom. But on this particular Monday, Evandro realized he'd left his hand-held games console at his house. So he said he was just popping back to get it.

He was never seen alive again. Maria returned home at lunchtime to find the console still there, but no sign of her son. It wasn't like Evandro to just wander off without telling her, so she raised the alarm.

Suruthi Bala (3:48)

Before we go into the police investigation, we need to clear up how this process actually works in Brazil, because it can be a bit complicated. The country has three major crime-fighting forces, the Federal Police, the Civil Police, and the Military Police. The Federal Police Agency works on a national level, dealing with high-level operations like organized crime or political corruption similar to the FBI in the US.

The Civil Police Force operates at a state level, investigating crimes like homicides, robberies, and violence after they occur, basically like plainclothes detectives. The Military Police respond to emergencies in progress, and perform routine policing at a state level, with a visible patrol presence. Imagine your classic uniformed cops.

And while the Military Police act as day-to-day enforcers, only the Federal and Civil Police technically have the power to investigate crimes and build legal cases for prosecutors. And we're saying all this because we want you to remember it, because it is going to come in useful later on.