Brazilian singer-politician accused of murdering husband with help from some of their 55 children

A Brazilian celebrity preacher and congresswoman has been accused of masterminding the murder of her husband in a plot involving several of the couple's 55 children, all but four of whom were adopted.

Flordelis dos Santos, who is a well-known gospel singer, rose to fame in the 1990s for adopting children from the slums of Rio. She founded an evangelical church, the Ministry of Flordelis, alongside her husband, Anderson Do Carmo.

When Do Carmo was shot dead at the family home in June 2019, receiving 30 bullet wounds, the 59-year-old lawmaker claimed it was an armed robbery.

But police arrested two of the couple's sons shortly after the killing, accusing one of shooting Do Carmo and another of procuring the weapon.

Now investigators have accused Flordelis dos Santos of orchestrating the murder and say that at least 10 of the couple’s children were involved in the plot.

On Monday five more of her children and a granddaughter were arrested amid reports that Flordelis had tried to kill her husband at least five times, including efforts to poison him as well as stage fake break-ins.

“The conclusion reached by the investigation was this: she planned this cowardly murder,” homicide chief Antônio Ricardo Lima Nunes told reporters as the singer’s handcuffed relatives were led away by police officers on Monday.

“The motive was that she was unhappy with the way in which pastor Anderson lived his life and handled the family finances.”

As a federal congresswoman since 2018, Flordelis has immunity from being jailed as a suspect.

Flordelis, who was raised in a Rio favela herself, has always denied being involved in her husband’s killing, but investigators found inconsistencies between the politician’s story and testimony from her children.

One of the investigation’s theories is that the couple were engaged in a battle over control of their church’s finances. Evangelical churches have considerable financial and political power in Brazil, with members often donating a 10th of their income to the institution.

“Our investigation shows that this image of altruism and decency was just a front to obtain a political and economic position,” said Allan Duarte, the police chief in charge of the investigation.