Social media glamour turned into a horrifying real-life nightmare for 21-year-old Evelyn Lima Dantas.
The influencer was reportedly dragged from her home in northeast Brazil and repeatedly shot in front of her father. Yes, this is one of those stories where reality sounds far worse than anything you would expect to see on a crime show.
According to Brazilian outlet Globo, two men broke into Dantas’ home early Wednesday. They reportedly forced her outside before shooting her several times on the sidewalk.
Her father was reportedly there and witnessed the terrifying attack.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are even more disturbing because Dantas was reportedly being investigated by authorities in connection with the murder of a retired police officer.
That detail has naturally raised plenty of questions.
The shooters then spray painted the letters “TCP” on the front of the house — a nod to Terceiro Comando Puro, the second most powerful gang in Rio de Janeiro — before fleeing.
Dantas, who had more than 24,000 followers online, was killed amid an ongoing investigation into the death of 56-year-old retired officer Antonio Anildo Alves da Silva, who was gunned down by four hooded men outside a supermarket on July 29.
Investigators suspected Dantas helped the shooters before the killing, according to Globo.
She was released from custody on Sept. 9 amid the investigation.
Why was she being investigated? Who were the men? And was the shooting connected to the murder investigation?
Those are the questions investigators will now have to answer.
Dantas, who vlogged trips and showed off her good looks to her fans, was known to the authorities. She had previously been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking for the gang, police said.
“We are working with the hypothesis of a cover-up or retaliation by some criminal faction,” Rodrigo Lopes told reporters.
No arrests have been made.
The investigation will hopefully provide answers about what happened that morning.
Until then, the biggest questions remain unanswered: Who ordered the attack? Why was Dantas targeted?
Those answers could turn this already disturbing story into an even bigger mystery.
