A young boy has tragically lost his life after allegedly being beaten for taking food from the fridge without asking.
Lucas Henrique de Lima Franco Leão, aged seven, was taken to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.
The incident is said to have occurred when Lucas took chicken from the refrigerator without permission.
The boy’s parents, who had adopted three children, have both been arrested in connection with his death.
The father, identified as Marcelo Bezerra Leão, is accused of fatally beating Lucas.
The alleged incident took place in the family home in Guararema, near São Paulo, Brazil.
Lucas was initially taken to Santa Casa de Guararema Hospital and later transferred to Hospital das Clínicas Luzia de Pinho Melo due to the severity of his injuries. Sadly, he passed away a few hours later at the second hospital.
Initially, the boy’s father claimed that Lucas’s injuries were caused by a fall down the stairs. However, doctors grew suspicious as the injuries did not appear consistent with a fall.
According to the police, Marcelo Leão later confessed to the crime after providing inconsistent statements. He allegedly admitted to punching the victim twice in the stomach and kicking him in the head.
The blows to the abdomen reportedly caused a rupture in the boy’s liver.
Authorities have arrested the boy’s mother, Margarete de Lima Franco Leão, who was present at the time of the incident but allegedly failed to protect her son.
Both parents are currently in custody, with Margarete being held at Itaquaquecetuba women’s prison and Marcelo at Mogi das Cruzes Provisional Detention Centre.
Lucas was laid to rest at the municipal cemetery in Guararema, and the local community is in shock over the tragic event.
The investigation into Lucas’s death is ongoing, and the authorities have confirmed that Marcelo had served as a municipal councillor for a brief period before his arrest.
