Suzane von Richthofen: Difference between revisions

|image = Suzane_von_Richthofen.png

|fullname = Suzane Louise Freiin von Richthofen

|origin = São Paulo, Brazil

|hobby=Watching police shows like ''CSI''}}

'''Suzane Louise von Richthofen''' (born 3 November 1983) is a Brazilian woman of German and Lebanese ancestry who, at age 18 in 2002, participated on the murder of her own parents, which was committed by her 21-year-old boyfriend Daniel Cravinhos and his 26-year-old brother Cristian. Suzane wanted to inherit her parents' fortune and continue dating Daniel without their disapproval. The three murderers were eventually all convicted and condemned to lengthy sentences.<ref name="Berliner Zeitung"/>

 

Suzane's parents initially allowed her to date Daniel, believing it to be a temporary crush, but changed their mind as it went on and when they discovered that he used marijuana almost daily, was unwilling to work or attend school, and came from a lower-class background (although Daniel himself asserted the opposite on his trial: that he worked hard and didn't smoke). In July 2002, while Suzane's parents were on vacation, Daniel moved into the house for a month. When the parents came back home, Suzane suggested they buy her a flat where she could live with Daniel. Her father refused, saying that she could do whatever she liked only if she earned money herself.

[[File:Young-Suzane-von-Richthofen.jpg|200px|right|thumb|A young Suzane, around the time she committed the murder]]

 

Suzane planned the murder of her parents for months. In the late hours of 31 October 2002, she checked if they were already asleep, then disconnected the alarm system of the estate and opened the door to Daniel and Cristian, who had been waiting outside. The brothers went upstairs to the parents' bedroom and struck them with iron bars before strangling them with towels. Suzane was waiting in the living room downstairs. After the murder was accomplished, the three staged a break-in by pocketing money they found, spreading papers in the library, and creating a mess in the house. Suzane and Daniel then went to a motel, while Cristian ate at a fast food restaurant.

 

Early in the morning, Suzane and Daniel picked up her little brother, Andreas, at an internet café and went home, where they "found" the door open and lights turned on. They then called the police, suggesting a possible burglary. After finding the crime scene, the officers communicated the murders to Daniel to in turn tell it to Suzane and Andreas. Andreas reacted with shock and confusion, while Suzane coldly asked an officer what she was supposed to do thereafter, a reaction that surprised him.

Investigating officers had doubts that the crime was a burglary and suspected that the perpetrators were known to the victims. They soon began to question Andreas and the employees of the Richthofen family. Police were also suspicious of the alarm system switched off and the papers spread very regularly, as if by design, but also Suzane's apparent indifference – she was seen in the house's swimming pool with Daniel the day after the murder, and celebrated her 19th birthday with friends just hours after the parents' burial, three days after the murder.

The investigators began shadowing Suzane and Daniel. They also learned that Cristian had bought a motorcycle a few days after the murders and had paid cash in R$100 bills, well above his normal income levels. A few days later, on November 9, 2002, he, Daniel and Suzane were all arrested, and Suzane soon confessed to the murder. Suzane was released from prison in May 2005, when the Supreme Federal Court granted her habeas corpus. She then awaited her trial under house arrest.

On July 17, 2006, Suzane von Richthofen, along with the Cravinhos brothers, was put on trial in São Paulo for ''homicídio qualificado'', the equivalent of First Degree Murder in Brazilian law. Suzane blamed Daniel for everything, while the Cravinhos brothers claimed to have acted on her wishes. Prosecutor Roberto Tardelli, however, called Suzane the "mastermind" of the crime and called for a 50 years sentence for each of the three defendants (at the time, however, Brazilian law limited any person's imprisonment to 30 years, even with a higher sentence). On July 22, Suzane and Daniel were both sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime, while Cristian got a sentence of 38 years for conspiracy.