A woman who allegedly lured her pregnant friend to a fake baby shower before murdering her and cutting her unborn child out of her womb has been named by police.
Police say Rozalba Grimm, 28, has admitted to plotting for five to six weeks before she lured Flávia Godinho, 24, to a bogus baby shower and murdered her on August 27 at an old ceramic warehouse in Canelinha, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
Authorities said Grimm admitted to become obsessed with stealing a child after she had a miscarriage earlier this year.
Grimm allegedly confessed to repeatedly bashing school teacher Godinho’s head with a rock and then using a blade to cut her belly open and extract the baby.
Godinho was 34 weeks pregnant when she was killed.
The newborn, who has been named Cecilia, survived and is recuperating at Joana de Gusmão Children’s Hospital in Florianópolis.
A court in Santa Catarina, Brazil has charged Zulmiar Schiestl (left) and Rozalba Grimm (right) with femicide, attempted murder, alleged childbirth, abduction of the incapacitated and concealment of a body after Grimm confessed to ripping out an unborn girl from the womb of Flávia Godinho on August 27
Flávia Godinho was killed August 27 in Santa Catarina, Brazil, by a woman who she became friends with on social media and who planned her a surprise baby shower for before the bogus event was cancelled . Godinho was 34 weeks pregnant with a girl, who was cut out of her womb during the attack. The baby, who was named Cecilia, is recuperating at a hospital
Grimm appears to be heavily pregnant in Facebook pictures of the couple, found by Brazilian news sites, which were posted in May and June – months after her reported miscarriage. It is not known if they were staged, or from an earlier pregnancy.
Grimm had taken the baby to the hospital, and allegedly claimed she had delivered the baby on her own. But officials became suspicious and contacted police.
Grimm and her husband, Zulmiar Schiestl have both been charged with femicide, attempted murder, alleged childbirth, abduction of the incapacitated and concealment of a body.
Grimm appears to be heavily pregnant in Facebook pictures of the couple, found by Brazilian news sites, which were posted in May and June – months after her reported miscarriage. It is not known if they were staged, or from an earlier pregnancy.
The mother of another woman claims her daughter was also approached by Grimm, but was says the killer was primarily interested in a girl.
She told Brazilian news outlet NCS that Grimm had uploaded a photo that showed her bloodied arms with a baby covered in a blanket before they were admitted into the hospital.
A second woman who was also pregnant with a boy was ignored by Grimm after she learned she too was expecting a boy, O Municipio reported.
Victim Flávia Godinho, photographed with her husband Valdeli Mafra, whom she married in October
Rozalba Grimm shared her pregnancy lab results on Facebook in November 2019 before suffering a miscarriage in January
Flávia Godinho (left) and Valdeli Mafra (right) were expecting their first child
Pictured: The knife used in the horrific crime in Brazil. Police said Mafra’s cause of death was a sharp cut to the abdomen and wounds sustained from being hit with a brick
Victim Godinho married Valdeli Mafra in October and became pregnant months later.
Grimm broke news of her own pregnancy via her Facebook page November 17, 2019, and in January shared a second post in which picked out the name of her child although she didn’t reveal the gender.
Authorities said that Grimm suffered a miscarriage some time in January but kept it a secret from her family members. Over the following months she browsed the internet for pregnant women and lied that she was still expecting a child.
Grimm eventually formed a relationship with Godinho on social media and planned a baby shower. Grimm then contacted the guests and called off the August 27 without Godinho’s knowledge.
Surveillance video footage aired by G1 showed Godinho entering Grimm’s car before the pair drove off towards the abandoned pottery yard where the expecting mother was killed.
Mafra’s body had been dumped in an abandoned pottery yard in the Galera neighbourhood of Canelinha, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina
Her family filed a missing person’s report later in the evening after she failed to come home and her body was located by her husband and mother approximately at 9am on August 28.
The lead detective in the murder case, Paulo Alexandre Freyesleben dee Silva, confirmed Godinho’s death was caused by a sharp cut to the abdomen and wounds from a brick.
An autopsy will confirm if the baby was removed with the pregnant woman alive or if she was already dead.
Godinho, who studied pedagogy and worked as a substitute teacher, was buried in the Municipal Cemetery of Canelinha after a brief ceremony.