Man claims he killed 40 people ‘for fun’

Brazilian police have arrested a man who allegedly has confessed to the murders of more than 40 people since 2005.

Police say they arrested Sailson Jose das Gracas on Wednesday shortly after he allegedly stabbed a woman to death in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of Nova Iguacu.

“He confessed he killed another 37 women, three men and a two-year-old girl over the past nine years,” a police officer said. “He either stabbed his victims or strangled them.”

He told police he killed “for the fun of it”.

Inspector Pedro Henrique Medina told the G1 news portal that das Gracas showed no remorse and “told us that if he is ever released from prison he would kill again.”

If his confession is true, it would make him one of history’s most prolific known serial killers and police indicated his statements about evidence tally with past investigations.

“He wanted to kill women — white women, not black ones. He followed the victims, studying them closely before committing the crimes,” said Medina.

Police described the 26-year-old as a psychopath.

Gracas says he only murdered the child as he feared it would cry and attract neighbours’ attention.

“I observed (my victims), I studied them. I waited for a month, sometimes a week, depending on the place. I tried to ascertain where they lived, what their families were like. I kept watch on their houses and then after a while went there at dawn, waited for my chance and entered,” broadcaster Globo’s G1 news portal quoted Gracas as saying.

“At 17, I killed the first woman and that gave me a buzz. I kept on doing it and I enjoyed it,” he said, adding that a couple, Cleusa Balbina and her former husband Jose Messias, contracted him to kill someone for money. The pair are now under arrest.

Gracas said he used a gun in contract killings but strangled his other victims.

He told police he became addicted to murdering and was professional in carrying out his crimes — wearing a special coat to hide his identity and gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.

“When I wasn’t killing someone I got uptight. I would pace up and down at home. Killing calmed me down.

“I’d kill someone and then would think about the victim for two or three months. After that, I’d go off hunting for another victim,” Gracas revealed.

“I don’t feel remorse — if I go to jail for 10, 15, 20 years, then as soon as I get out I’ll do the same thing all over again,” he insisted.

Gracas was arrested after stabbing to death a 26-year-old woman identified as Fatima Miranda, in her home in the town of Nova Iguaçu, Greater Rio de Janeiro.

Under Brazilian law, the maximum prison term is 30 years. The country as never had capital punishment.