There's a lot that I want to say about this documentary. At the time of the murder I was 24 years old, living in São Paulo. I was born in São Paulo, Brazil and as a child I watched many soap operas. Then, in my adolescent and adult years I just lost interest in telenovelas. I was in Santos, a beach town, when I first heard of this terrible tragedy. Daniella Pérez was a beautiful young lady, who became known throughout the country for her acting abilities and charisma. In her last interview before her untimely death, she said that she had everything she wanted in life, that she was a privileged young lady and had married the man she wanted. She was a happy young woman. Being able to accomplish all of this in Brazil, at a young age, was definitely a blessing. It makes even the more tragic that Daniella was pulled into a web of lies, deceit, envy, and pure jealousy which culminated with her brutal death. Now, 30 years later, and living in the US for 22 years, having already lost both my parents in Brazil, the emptiness that overcame me when I watched the TV series was immense and overwhelming.
In my opinion the series is well done and has succeeded in reaching out to the hearts of everyone who knew of this crime back in 1992. However, I believe that the strongest testimony and interview came from Gloria Perez herself. I personally did not care for most of the other testimonies and, in fact, they only showed more of the weakness that has corroded Brazilian society and culture, which can lead to those types of crimes that remain unpunished forever.
The scene in the cemetery where Daniella Perez in being buried is heartbreaking, and caused me to be very angry with the way Brazilians seem to be so disrespectful with Daniella's family. That behavior was embarrassing and I can only imagine how a foreign person watching this scene would consider it very cringy and bizarre. Then, some people in Rio de Janeiro kept damaging the tomb and threatening to remove Daniella's remains. I guess, after living in another country for so long, I cannot comprehend this kind of behavior and how it seems to be tolerated by both the police and Brazilian society. It really hurts my heart to see how Brazil has been so backwards in dealing with criminal matters.
The TV series lacks the ability to present hard evidence that would speak for itself, and relies heavily on witnesses and testimonies. Growing up in Brazil, I used to despise its criminal system. Unfortunately, Brazil is still very leftist in its political views, which results in a justice system that focuses more on the rights of the criminals, than in seeking justice for the victims. Daniella's murder case is a perfect example. Witnesses are afraid of testifying because they don't want to be the target of a crime and don't want to lose their jobs. The police does nothing about it and Gloria Perez has to seek justice on her own, knocking on doors and begging witnesses to do the right thing. I have been following crime stories in the US for decades and NEVER saw anything like that before. This whole situation left me speechless. A loving mother in pain and the Brazilian justice system just kept throwing salt in her wounds. While I still love Brazil in many ways, I painfully admit that there's no justice in that country, and Brazilian citizens are treated like a number, a shadow that fades away while murderers just receive a pat in the back!
The interviews with both murderers were very bizarre. The exploitation by Brazilian tabloid magazines of both the crime and the character Yasmin played by Daniella in the soap opera De Corpo e Alma was disgusting. I can only imagine the depth and intensity of the pain that Gloria Perez went through. If a talented, famous, and well stablished screenwriter in Brazil has to deal with the amount of disrespect, neglect, and disregard that it was shown from the justice system, the press, witnesses, the tabloids, the people and fans attending Daniella's funeral, lawyers, and even a catholic priest, for 30 years, we all know that there won't be justice for anyone else in Brazil.
I remember when I first heard of those two murderers being released from prison and living a normal life as a pastor (Guilherme de Padua) and an attorney (Paula Thomáz). I just felt very sick and truly believed that leaving Brazil behind was the best thing I ever did in my life. USA has a lot of problems, but they are also relentless in their pursuit of justice for the victims of horrific crimes! It's very disturbing to think that there are good and equally naive evangelicals attending this murderer's church. The devil is a master manipulator camouflaging himself in sheep's clothing! It is also equally revolting that the other murderer becomes an attorney, gets married (whoever married this murderer is a sadist), has more kids, and tries to enroll them in acting classes!
Gloria Perez is the star of the series from start to finish. Her sharp and painful words pierced my heart and I felt her pain deeply in my soul. She is right. Our children have always been in the corner of our lives way before they were even born. And they will always be in the most special corner of our lives. Regardless. I am a person of faith, so I believe in divine justice. I also believe that we will be reunited with our precious children and our loving parents one day. I heard a very wise man say that while happiness is an irregular emotional state that can be dissipated in a blink of an eye, the most important thing is to live a meaningful life, regardless of the pain and tragedies that befall us all. Daniella lived a meaningful life, she was talented, full of life, bright, beautiful and loved by her wonderful family. What could be more meaningful than a loving mother's pursuit for justice for her beautiful daughter?
In my opinion the series is well done and has succeeded in reaching out to the hearts of everyone who knew of this crime back in 1992. However, I believe that the strongest testimony and interview came from Gloria Perez herself. I personally did not care for most of the other testimonies and, in fact, they only showed more of the weakness that has corroded Brazilian society and culture, which can lead to those types of crimes that remain unpunished forever.
The scene in the cemetery where Daniella Perez in being buried is heartbreaking, and caused me to be very angry with the way Brazilians seem to be so disrespectful with Daniella's family. That behavior was embarrassing and I can only imagine how a foreign person watching this scene would consider it very cringy and bizarre. Then, some people in Rio de Janeiro kept damaging the tomb and threatening to remove Daniella's remains. I guess, after living in another country for so long, I cannot comprehend this kind of behavior and how it seems to be tolerated by both the police and Brazilian society. It really hurts my heart to see how Brazil has been so backwards in dealing with criminal matters.
The TV series lacks the ability to present hard evidence that would speak for itself, and relies heavily on witnesses and testimonies. Growing up in Brazil, I used to despise its criminal system. Unfortunately, Brazil is still very leftist in its political views, which results in a justice system that focuses more on the rights of the criminals, than in seeking justice for the victims. Daniella's murder case is a perfect example. Witnesses are afraid of testifying because they don't want to be the target of a crime and don't want to lose their jobs. The police does nothing about it and Gloria Perez has to seek justice on her own, knocking on doors and begging witnesses to do the right thing. I have been following crime stories in the US for decades and NEVER saw anything like that before. This whole situation left me speechless. A loving mother in pain and the Brazilian justice system just kept throwing salt in her wounds. While I still love Brazil in many ways, I painfully admit that there's no justice in that country, and Brazilian citizens are treated like a number, a shadow that fades away while murderers just receive a pat in the back!
The interviews with both murderers were very bizarre. The exploitation by Brazilian tabloid magazines of both the crime and the character Yasmin played by Daniella in the soap opera De Corpo e Alma was disgusting. I can only imagine the depth and intensity of the pain that Gloria Perez went through. If a talented, famous, and well stablished screenwriter in Brazil has to deal with the amount of disrespect, neglect, and disregard that it was shown from the justice system, the press, witnesses, the tabloids, the people and fans attending Daniella's funeral, lawyers, and even a catholic priest, for 30 years, we all know that there won't be justice for anyone else in Brazil.
I remember when I first heard of those two murderers being released from prison and living a normal life as a pastor (Guilherme de Padua) and an attorney (Paula Thomáz). I just felt very sick and truly believed that leaving Brazil behind was the best thing I ever did in my life. USA has a lot of problems, but they are also relentless in their pursuit of justice for the victims of horrific crimes! It's very disturbing to think that there are good and equally naive evangelicals attending this murderer's church. The devil is a master manipulator camouflaging himself in sheep's clothing! It is also equally revolting that the other murderer becomes an attorney, gets married (whoever married this murderer is a sadist), has more kids, and tries to enroll them in acting classes!
Gloria Perez is the star of the series from start to finish. Her sharp and painful words pierced my heart and I felt her pain deeply in my soul. She is right. Our children have always been in the corner of our lives way before they were even born. And they will always be in the most special corner of our lives. Regardless. I am a person of faith, so I believe in divine justice. I also believe that we will be reunited with our precious children and our loving parents one day. I heard a very wise man say that while happiness is an irregular emotional state that can be dissipated in a blink of an eye, the most important thing is to live a meaningful life, regardless of the pain and tragedies that befall us all. Daniella lived a meaningful life, she was talented, full of life, bright, beautiful and loved by her wonderful family. What could be more meaningful than a loving mother's pursuit for justice for her beautiful daughter?
