Serial killer jailed for 20 years could face 42 trials

A MAN accused of being Brazil’s most prolific serial killer was yesterday sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in the first of 42 possible trials for the killing and mutilation of boys.

Francisco das Chagas Rodrigues de Brito, a 41-year-old bike mechanic, was given 19 years for homicide and one year and eight months for hiding the body of the 15-year-old victim, the court said in statement.

Chagas now faces trial for 41 other murders committed between 1991 and 2003 in Maranahao and the neighbouring Amazon state of Para.