Brazil: Witness in murdered footballer case heard by Curitiba police

A witness to the case of murdered Brazilian footballer Daniel Correa Freitas was heard by police in the Brazilian city of Sao Jose dos Pinhais, in the southern Curitiba region, on Monday.
Freitas was allegedly murdered by businessman Edison Brittes, who confessed to the crime. Brittes claims that the footballer had attempted to rape his wife, Cristina, after attending the 18th birthday party of the couple's daughter at a nightclub in Curitiba.
Three men who allegedly journeyed in the car with Britte to the place where Freitas' body was discovered are now being called to testify. Nineteen-year-old Eduardo Henrique Ribeiro Silva is one such witness and was seen arriving at a police station in Sao Jose dos Pinhais on Monday accompanied by lawyers to present himself to the authorities. He is scheduled to give his testimony on Thursday.
Investigators are yet to determine whether Freitas was already dead when he was taken to the scene and are seeking a response from the three witnesses over any participation in the crime.
"The truth is that it is a heinous crime, they mutilated a young man and then they tried to rip his head off. Now they try to cover it with a fanciful version of rape that didn't happen. Daniel was a good young man who was suddenly victim of a monstrous family," a lawyer for Freitas' family told reporters.
"The statements are very strong. The one from Cristiana [Brittes], who in a sincere way states that she was victim of a rape attempt and of sexual harassment and also of photos of her being spread on the internet," a lawyer for the Brittes family said.
Freitas' body was found in a woodland near a rural road on October 27, allegedly bearing signs of torture and mutilation.
Brittes, his wife Cristiana and his daughter Allana are all suspects in the case.