"Had to sign"

Woman brought dead man to the bank for a loan

Symbolic image

(Bild: Rafael Henrique | F O T O G R A F I A stock.adobe)

In the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, a woman took a dead man in a wheelchair to the bank in all seriousness in order to get a loan.

"She tried to fake his signature. He had already arrived at the bank dead," the news portal "G1" quoted police officer Fábio Luiz Souza as saying on Wednesday. The woman was arrested.

In a video published on Tuesday, the woman can be seen talking to the man and trying to get him to sign a document. It is said to have been about a loan of 17,000 reais (around 3,000 euros).

"Uncle Paulo, can you hear me? You have to sign it," the woman said to the 68-year-old, according to the report. Another woman - presumably a bank employee - filmed the situation and said that she thought the man was not well. The bank employees then called the mobile emergency service, which determined that the man was dead.

Man probably did not die in bank branch
Initial investigations refute the woman's claim that the man died in the bank branch, reported "G1", citing the police. According to the report, the back of the man's head showed death marks, which would indicate that he had died lying down. Death marks are conspicuous discolorations of the skin that appear in certain areas of the body after death and are caused by the sinking of blood due to gravity. If he had died in the bank, he would have had these on his legs, according to the police, as he was in a wheelchair.

The woman, who claims to be the man's niece and caregiver, is now being investigated for attempted theft by fraud and body snatching. "According to our research, she is actually related to him," "G1" quoted Souza as saying. "In my 22-year career, I've never seen a story like this."