Flordelis Souza, a gospel singer and congresswoman who was a mother to 55 children, has been sentenced to 50 years and 28 days in prison for orchestrating the murder of her husband, Anderson do Carmo, in a crime that involved several generations of her family.
Souza began singing in churches in the early 1990s in Jacarezinho, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Then a mother of three, she met do Carmo, who was 16 years younger, in 1993 when he was dating her daughter Simone. By 1998, the pair had broken up, and Souza married the then-21-year-old do Carmo. Together, they founded the Ministry of Flordelis church and became known for taking in children in need, building a family of 55 biological and adopted offspring.
Rise to Fame and the Murder
Souza's profile grew over time. She became responsible for nine churches, released chart-topping gospel albums, and won a seat in Congress in 2018, becoming the most-voted candidate in the state of Rio.
According to investigators, Souza wanted her husband gone because he kept a tight grip on the family finances. She began poisoning him from mid-2018, attempting to kill him at least six times by slipping arsenic and cyanide into his food and drinks. Each time, he went to hospital but survived. She then hired a gunman to shoot him, but do Carmo inadvertently swapped cars and confused the shooter.
Shooting and Investigation
In June 2019, do Carmo, then 42, was arriving home with his wife from a night out when he was ambushed and shot dead at dawn in the garage. The coroner's report revealed his body was hit by over 30 bullets, with a heavy concentration targeting his pelvic and groin region. Prosecutors said he "suffered terribly" before he died.
Souza tearfully reported her husband's death hours later, saying he had been killed in a robbery, but police did not believe the story. Days later, her eldest biological son Flavio was arrested at his stepfather's wake on an unrelated domestic violence warrant, and his adopted brother Lucas was arrested the same day for buying the pistol used in the killing. Two days later, the oldest child confessed to the murder.
Sentencing and Aftermath
In August 2020, after further investigation, Souza was accused of masterminding the murder, along with seven of her children, a granddaughter, and two people from outside the family. Her lawyer insisted she was innocent and called the investigation a "great mistake," while the lead detective said this was "not a family but a criminal organisation." Flavio was sentenced to 33 years for pulling the trigger, while Lucas received seven years, reduced because he cooperated with police.
In 2022, Souza was tried, with her lawyers arguing she knew nothing about the crime, which they said was carried out by relatives who wanted to protect her from alleged physical and sexual abuse by her husband. The judge rejected that defence, ruling she was the mind behind a killing staged to look like a robbery that went wrong.
The 61-year-old was sentenced to 50 years and 28 days in prison, convicted of the crime added to the poisoning attempts. Her daughter Simone Rodrigues received 31 years, four months, and 20 days for her part in the earliest attempted poisonings. Two other children and a granddaughter were acquitted.
Souza maintained her innocence to this day, telling The Guardian in the aftermath of the sentencing: "They say it was about power and money. What power? I'm the congresswoman. I'm the gospel singer with thousands of followers… So what power did I seek to steal from my husband? And what money? I was the one who lost the most here - it was me!"
