João Acácio Pereira da Costa

João Acácio Pereira da Costa was a notorious Brazilian thief. Due to his reported habit of committing crimes during midnight with a red light lantern, he was nicknamed ”Bandido da Luz Vermelha” (Red Light Burglar).

An orphan, he always committed small thefts to survive. He lived his adolescence in Santos, committing thefts in São Paulo, which served to not raise suspicion over him. He always stole from mansions, cutting the energy of the place and using a handkerchief to hide his face, using the red lantern to illuminate the place. The local police took six years to identify him, after he left fingerprints in the windows of a mansion. He was finally arrested in 1967 and condemned for theft and murder.

After 30 years imprisoned, he was freed in 1997 (30 years is the maximum sentence in Brazil), but was murdered four months after, during a discussion with a fisherman who shot him.