‘My seven-year-old was killed at graduation – it took me 10 years to bring her killer to justice’

A joyous occasion turned into a horrifying ordeal for a family of five in 2015. The evening was meant to be a celebration of eldest daughter Samira’s graduation from a prestigious private school.

The school’s gymnasium was packed with thousands of guests, including family, friends and colleagues of Beatriz’s father, Sandro, an English teacher at the school. However, just hours later, seven year old Beatriz Angélica Mota would be discovered dead within her own school.

During the festivities, Beatriz asked her mother, Lucinha Mota, if she could go to a nearby water fountain for a drink. The surroundings were familiar – it was both the children’s school and their father’s place of work.