DUBAI: A grieving Brazilian man has told police he dug up his dead brother’s body and took it on a bicycle ride around town because he missed him.
Elderlandes Rosa, 29, was caught by police after he was seen pushing the coffin around on his bicycle. According to reports he had open the coffin and pulled the body of his brother Eri Erisberto out so he could chat to him. The 30-year-old died a year ago.
Police were alerted when residents in the southeast Brazilian town of Prata noticed a strong smell coming from the coffin as it was pushed around on Sunday night.
Initially Rosa refused to follow police instructions to stop. But he later told them he had dug up his brother’s remains, because he missed him.
“We received phone calls from the public and went to investigate,” Police officer Luciano Goncalves explained.
Officers arrested Rosa for the abuse of a corpse – a crime that carries a maximum three-year jail term. He was later released pending further investigations.
In an interview with Brazil’s Vitoriosa TV, Rosa explained he had taken his brother out to fulfil a “promise” he had made to him.
Rosa explained: “I said that if he died first, I would take him out on the streets, to the places where he liked to go… Now I’ve kept that promise I’ll stay calm and carry on. Those who want to laugh at me or joke, you can do what you want. I think like this, if I have to do something I do it. “
He said he was going to seek support to help with his grief. His family told journalists later that he had reacted badly to his brother’s death. The corpse was returned to the grave the following day.
