Six people have now been arrested in the harrowing death of a student who was allowed to bungee jump without being attached to a cord, according to reports.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was tossed off a 130-foot bridge in Brazil without being attached to a bungee cord and plunged to her death June 13, in a tragic, caught-on-camera scene.
A 29-year-old Rio de Janeiro woman, a 25-year-old man from Limeira and 27-year-old man from Indaiatuba, were arrested, CNN Brazil reported. It’s unclear when the arrests occurred.
Investigators claim the three individuals were involved in planning and carrying out the horrific plunge.
Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was seen being carried by staff airplane-style and tossed off the abandoned “skeleton bridge” in a sickening video posted to social media.
A witness who filmed the incident is heard screaming “guys, the rope!” and gesturing to the cord that was left on the ground.
The bridge is going to be demolished to prevent further similar tragedies from taking place, authorities said.
In addition to the three recent arrests, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32; Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27; and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42; were arrested June 14 and charged with homicide with eventual intent.
Local courts have authorized search warrants for the homes of the six suspects, the outlet reported.
An instructor was seen removing a GoPro – that Rodrigues de Freitas paid extra to wear during her jump – from her body after she was thrown from the bridge, and digital evidence is believed to have been destroyed.
“I remember … seeing one of the employees taking the [camera] handle off the neck, from the body that was already on the floor, the GoPro camera,” Rafael Goulard, who was on line to jump after Rodrigues de Freitas, told Brazilian TV station EPTV.
Brazilian police said they are continuing to search for the GoPro.
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“The Civil Police are continuing their investigations to fully clarify the dynamics of the events, identify all criminal responsibilities, and locate the camera used by the victim at the time of the jump, considered an important element for reconstructing what happened,” Brazil’s Public Security Secretariat said in a statement.
Egoroff, Concalves and Cintra all claimed to have “blacked out” and not recall whose job it was to attach the bungee cord.
“Either it’s me or [Cintra] who does it. So I went ahead first, and after that it’s all erased from my mind… I don’t remember,” Egoroff told EPTV.
The trio attempted to flee police after the incident and were tracked down by military helicopter.
Egoroff and other instructors made a tasteless video four years ago tossing a black bag made to look like a dead body off the bridge.
The September 2022 video was entitled “Hiding the body.” It’s unclear if the others who participated in the video were involved in Rodrigues de Freitas’ death.
