SERIAL KILLER ARRESTED, CLAIMS TO HAVE KILLED AROUND 80 PEOPLE

JOÃO PESSOA, SEPTEMBER 18 /SRNA/ - A 33-year-old Brazilian man told police investigators after his arrest that he had killed around 80 people.

The figure has not yet been officially confirmed, while evidence currently links Jorlano Lopes da Silva to 16 murders committed over a period of approximately three months in the Mamanguape Valley.

Police in Brazil's Paraíba state are reviewing unresolved murder cases.

Investigators will re-examine them to determine whether there is any information that could link him to other killings, Brazilian media report.

According to police, Lopes da Silva fled a confrontation in Rio Tinto and went into hiding in a community in Cabedelo, in the greater João Pessoa area, which is suspected of being linked to a criminal organization.

He was arrested on September 13 in the municipality of Mulungu during a raid after attempting to flee wearing a dress and a wig. He was also wearing women's sandals and sunglasses and had painted fingernails.

When police located him, he was carrying a child of around two years old who was not related to him. He later abandoned the child. The circumstances under which the child came into his possession are still being investigated.

Police have linked him to a criminal faction originating in Rio de Janeiro that operates in Paraíba. Investigators, with the support of the Federal Highway Police, tracked a group with which the suspect was traveling toward Mulungu.

Following his detention hearing, Lopes da Silva was transferred to the Sílvio Porto prison in João Pessoa, while police are considering whether he needs to undergo a mental health assessment.