A German diplomat is said to have murdered his Belgian husband in Rio de Janeiro. On Sunday, the Brazilian police arrested 60-year-old Uwe Herbert H. on suspicion of murder. H. is the chancellor of the consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Rio, i.e. the head of administration and thus also one of the vice-consuls.
H. had called the emergency doctor last Friday evening because his husband, Walter Henri Maximillen B., had freaked out in their apartment in the Ipanema district and had a bad fall on the terrace. The 52-year-old is said to have felt bad before, and also took pills and a lot of alcohol. The two had been a couple for 23 years and were married, said H.. They had recently had arguments because H. was to be transferred to a post in Haiti after four years at the consulate in Rio.
The emergency doctor determined the death of the Belgian, but did not want to commit to a fall as the cause of death and referred the body to the forensic medicine. There, the doctor responsible found more than 30 injuries on B.’s body, which did not match the version presented by the German diplomat. He gave the cause of death as bleeding between the brain and tissue in the neck area resulting from a contusion and trauma to the skull. They were triggered by blunt force trauma.
The newspaper “O Globo” quoted the professor of forensic medicine, Nelson Massini, who analyzed the autopsy. He said B.’s body had injuries and bruises on parts of the body from face to feet, including so-called defense and attack areas such as forearms, hands and legs. Some injuries may have been from an object. Massini also pointed out that the nature, shape, and distribution of some hematomas indicated sadomasochistic practices and that they were of older origin. B. also had injuries to the anus.
When the German diplomat went to pick up his husband’s body on Saturday evening, he was arrested. During interrogation, he contradicted himself and during a search of the men’s home, the police found traces of blood on the floor and on a piece of sofa furniture, which had apparently been washed away by a secretary.
Camila Lourenço, investigating the case, said that B.’s body “screamed out” the circumstances of his death. She pointed to injuries in the chest area, which should come from kicks. The Brazilian judiciary has already denied a request by B’s defense for habeas corpus. The defenders had argued with H.’s diplomatic immunity.
The German Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, Dirk Augustin, told the Agência Brasil news agency that “in this case we are in close contact with the Brazilian authorities”. For reasons of privacy protection, it is currently not possible to give further information about H. or details of the case.
