Suspect confesses to murdering former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira
Human remains have been found at an excavation site in the Amazon
A man has confessed to murdering former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.
Police have discovered human remains of two men in the Amazon nearby to where the two men went missing on June 5.
Police excavated the site 3.1 kilometres into the jungle after being led there by a suspect.
Two men have currently been identified as suspects: fisherman Amarildo da Costa, who was arrested last week on weapons charges, and his brother Oseney da Costa, who was taken in by police on Tuesday.
One of the men arrested in connection with the disappearance of Phillips and Pereira has confessed to murdering and dismembering the two men, regional police chief Eduardo Fontes said at a press briefing on Wednesday, June 15.
“On Tuesday he informed us the location where the bodies were buried and he promised to go with us today to the site so we could confirm where the bodies were buried,” Fontes said.
Police expect to make further arrests.
Fontes added: “We are still investigating. This was a significant advance. We aim to get sure evidence so there are convictions.
“We are now going to identify the human remains with the most dignity possible.”
Phillips worked at Mixmag from 1991 to 1999, and was editor of the magazine from 1993 to 1997. He coined the genre term “progressive house” in a 1992 article in the magazine, and also wrote the 2009 book Superstar DJs Here We Go!: The Rise and Fall of the Superstar DJ.
Phillips’ journalistic focus since 2007 has been on Brazil, its indingenious communities and the environment, contributing to newspapers including the Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Financial Times.
He has reported critically on topics including the policies of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, corruption among the president’s political allies, and allegations against meat processing companies and goldminers for illegal Amazon deforestation that is impacting indigenous communities.
Bruno Araújo Pereira is a former government employee whose work focused on protecting Brazil’s uncontacted tribes. He has regularly received threats from loggers and miners seeking to exploit Indigenous lands.
A fundraiser has been set up to aid the families of Phillips and Pereira. Donate here.
Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Editor, follow him on Twitter
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