30 October 2012
Ronaldo Santana de Araújo
RONALDO SANTANA DE ARAÚJO (8/8/59 10/9/97) Date of murder: October 9, 1997 Place and circumstances of murder: Duque de Caxias Street, near an open-air market. At about 6:40 a.m. Ronaldo Santana de Araújo and his son, Márcio Alan, were heading on foot for Rádio Jornal when they were attacked by a man who fired four shots at Ronaldo. Another man was awaiting for the murderer at the street corner on a motorcycle on which they both made off. Probable motive: Allegations of drug trafficking and of misdeeds in city hall and the police department. Suspects: Now in jail in Goiânia, Goiás state, in connection with another crime, former police officer Mendes Lima confessed to having been hired by city hall employees, on the orders of Mayor Paulo Dapé, to have Santana killed. In a later statement, he denied everything. He claimed to have been pressured by police to accuse the mayor of being behind the murder.
Place of birth: Ilhéus, Bahia
Age at time of death: 38
Marital status: Married to Manuelina Moura de Araújo, 42, since 1977
Children (names and ages at time of fathers death): Márcio Alan Moura de Araújo, 21, and Bruno Moura de Araújo, 14
Education: He took an Adult Education course, having studied through the first year of high school in Ilhéus
Profession/position: Radio announcer. At the time of his death he was working at Rádio Jornal in Eunápolis, southern Bahia
Background in journalism: He began work as a messenger at Rádio Santa Cruz in Ilhéus in 1977. He went on to become a radio engineer. In 1990, he went to Eunápolis, where he worked as a radio broadcast engineer, along with his wife, at Rádio Jacarandá. He replaced the host of a show and shortly afterwards also began doing crime reports an a peoples forum. Most recently, he hosted the Police Beat show, broadcast daily at 7:00 a.m. by Rádio Jornal.
Leisure activities/hobbies: He played soccer (he was a supporter of the Vasco team) and loved to listen to Brazilian country music and old-time singers.
