Man paid brother $708 in plot to kill estranged wife and daughter of Brazilian congressman

This is the moment a man was busted after his brother paid him off to murder his estranged wife in Brazil.

Rodrigo Xavier was taken into custody at his home in Nova Mutum on Wednesday, almost a week after he received $708 dollars to kill Raquel Cattani, the daughter of Mato Grosso Congressman Gilberto Cattani, police revealed.

Rodrigo's brother Romero Xavier allegedly plotted the murder and was apprehended the home of Raquel Cattani’s family during an operation Wednesday.

The siblings are facing aggravated homicide charges.

Guilherme Pompeo, who is leading the Civil Police investigation, told reporters on Thursday that Rodrigo Xavier used $265 of the blood money to cover the down payment of car.

Rodrigo Xavier broke into the farmhouse the evening of July 18 and hid in one of the rooms before he attacked his sister-in-law and stabbed her 34 times.

'The dynamics identified, precisely through Rodrigo’s interrogation, is that he remained at the location during the day and stayed there until dusk,' Nova Mutum police officer Edmund Barros Jr. told said during the press conference.

'He broke the window of the children’s room, entered and stayed there waiting for the victim to arrive. After the victim arrived, he surprised her and began to strike her in several areas.'

The Mato Grosso Civil Police said that Romero Xavier and Raquel Cattani were in the process of getting a divorce and had been separated for 30 days.

Romero Xavier approached his brother, with whom he didn’t have a close relationship, and orchestrated the murder because he was upset his wife and mother of his six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter no longer wanted to be with him.

Raquel Cattani had told a friend on July 15 that Romero Xavier had threatened to kill her unless they got back together.

Rodrigo Xavier became nervous as law enforcement agents questioned him about his sister-in-law’s murder before he confessed to killing her.

Police said that he dumped his cell phone, his sister-in-law’s motorcycle and the knife used to commit the crime in a river in the town of Lucas do Rio Verde.

Rodrigo Xavier broke the window of his niece’s and nephew’s room in the farmhouse and left a television on – signs that the police believed was a staged home invasion.

While searching his home, police found a perfume bottle belonging to Raquel Cattani along with a radio, a cell phone case, a knife and a belt.

Rodrigo Xavier told investigators that his brother had ordered him to take the items as part of the plan to throw off the investigation.

A footprint that was found on the television appeared to match the print on the boots he was wearing the moment he was arrested.

Romero Xavier, police said, drove his brother to the home and left him nearby on July 18. He took his children to have lunch with Congressman Cattani to have an alibi.

He organized a barbecue with a few people, including some he had not been in contact with and went to three nightclubs in the municipality of Tapurah later at night.

Romero Xavier went to the home the morning of July 19, when Congressman Cattani discovered his daughter’s body in the home.

He was detained and was released following an interrogation.

As rumors surfaced that Romero Xavier was considered a suspect, Congressman Cattani posted on social media. 

'With a broken heart, I need to say a few things here. Raquel's husband was not arrested, nor did he confess to any crime, and I didn't kill my daughter as was reported. At least have some respect for other people's pain,' he wrote.

Romero Xavier attended Raquel Cattani’s funeral home service and burial last Saturday and broke down in tears.