A Cuban resident in Brazil set his house on fire with six family members inside, resulting in the death of one of his children, a baby just three months old, and the death of the infant's maternal grandmother, the murderer's mother-in-law.
The tragedy occurred in the early hours of last Saturday in a house of approximately 100 square meters located in the Vila Rica neighborhood of Criciúma, in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
The residence housed seven family members, all of Cuban origin: the perpetrator (32 years old), his wife (31), his mother-in-law (51), his mother-in-law's partner (58), and three children: a 12-year-old stepdaughter and two infant twins (a girl and a boy, just three months old), as revealed by local press.
It all began when the assailant, identified as Michael Zanabria Díaz, threw a bottle of gasoline after having an argument with his wife, who is currently hospitalized with serious burns on her body.
In addition to the two fatalities, during the violent incident, the Cuban seriously stabbed his wife’s stepfather.
When the Military Firefighters arrived at the scene around 2:30 in the morning, the fire was already fully developed.
During subsequent efforts, the agents found the charred bodies of the grandmother and her baby granddaughter, who were sleeping in the same room at the time of the fire.
According to a report published by a Brazilian news outlet, the man locked his mother-in-law and the baby in the room where they died, while he saved the other twin himself.
The 12-year-old girl and her male twin emerged unscathed.
The Civil Police, Scientific Police, Medical Legal Institute, SAMU, Military Firefighters, and Guardianship Council all responded to the location.
Although he attempted to flee, the Cuban accused of double homicide and attempted femicide was transferred to the Regional Police Guard Center for the necessary proceedings.
However, according to the Civil Police, the man was found dead in his cell on the morning of that Saturday, possibly due to suicide.
The events reporter, Niover Licea, specified that the family was originally from Cárdenas, Matanzas, and that they had been in Brazil for just a year and a half.
The family is devastated and is seeking assistance to repatriate the bodies and cover the medical expenses of the survivors.
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