Ep. 110 | Flordelis dos Santos de Souza

Brazil has a word for the kind of person Flordelis dos Santos de Souza appeared to be: milagre. A miracle. Born into poverty in one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous favelas, she clawed her way out not through luck or privilege, but through her faith in God — and she made it her mission to bring as many people with her as she could. By 2019, she was a celebrated gospel singer, a renowned evangelical pastor, a sitting member of Brazil's Congress, and the mother of fifty-five adopted children she had pulled off the streets and called her own. She was proof that God was real and that He showed up for the forgotten. She was, by every measure that mattered in evangelical Brazil, a living saint. But on the morning of June 16, 2019, her husband was found shot 18 times in their garage — and the story Flordelis told about what happened that night would begin to unravel almost immediately. Because the miracle, it turned out, had a very dark foundation. And the saint? She was anything but. This is the story of the murder of Anderson do Carmo.

Note: I watched the Amazon Prime Docuseries Flordelis: A Family Crime for overall context surrounding the case before starting my research.

SOURCES:

• A Crítica. (2022, March 22). Testemunha diz à polícia que casa de Flordelis tinha rituais com sangue e sexo. https://www.acritica.com/testemunha-diz-a-policia-que-casa-de-flordelis-tinha-rituais-com-sangue-e-sexo-1.34431

• Acervo Lima. (n.d.). Flordelis. https://wiki.acervolima.com/flordelis/

• Al Día News. (2021, May 11). Flordelis and the '55': One of Brazil's most talked-about cases could come to an end. https://aldianews.com/en/culture/heritage-and-history/flordelis-and-55

• Arab News. (2021, August 14). Former Brazilian congresswoman goes to jail on charges of executing pastor husband. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1910871/world

• Barbosa, C. M. (2021, December 15). Pastor hired a hitman to kill her own husband/adoptive child. Medium. https://camilamoraesbarbosa-78762.medium.com/pastor-hired-a-hitman-to-kill-her-own-husband-adoptive-child-true-crime-8b1a6b04ca98

• BHaz. (2020, August 25). Sexo, sangue e rituais: Casa de Flordelis tinha rotina secreta, revela testemunha em depoimento. https://bhaz.com.br/noticias/brasil/sexo-sangue-rituais-casa-deputada-flordelis-rotina-secreta/

• BNews. (2020, June 22). Flordelis fazia rituais secretos com nudez, sexo e até sangue, diz testemunha. https://www.bnews.com.br/noticias/brasil/272445-flordelis-fazia-rituais-secretos-com-nudez-sexo-e-ate-sangue-diz-testemunha.html

• Brasil 247. (2020, September 1). Flordelis promovia rituais secretos com nudez, sexo e até sangue em sua casa, revela testemunha. https://www.brasil247.com/regionais/sudeste/flordelis-promovia-rituais-secretos-com-nudez-sexo-e-ate-sangue-em-sua-casa-revela-testemunha

• Correio 24 Horas. (2020, June 22). Flordelis promovia rituais secretos com nudez, sangue e sexo com menores, diz jornal. https://www.correio24horas.com.br/brasil/flordelis-promovia-rituais-secretos-com-nudez-sangue-e-sexo-com-menores-diz-jornal-0620

• Cruz de Araujo, G. (2022). Witchcraft practices in Brazil: Case study of two witches accused in Grão-Pará in the 18th century. Memorias, (47), 108–130. https://doi.org/10.14482/memor.47.364.18

• Extra Globo. (2020, June 22). Casa de Flordelis tinha rituais secretos com nudez, sexo até sangue, revela testemunha. https://extra.globo.com/casos-de-policia/casa-de-flordelis-tinha-rituais-secretos-com-nudez-sexo-ate-sangue-revela-testemunha-rv1-1-24491691.html

• Folhamax. (2020, June 22). Flordelis fazia rituais com nudez, sexo e até sangue, revela testemunha. https://www.folhamax.com/mundo/flordelis-fazia-rituais-com-nudez-sexo-e-ate-sangue-revela-testemunha/262498

• Grokipedia. (2026, January 14). Flordelis dos Santos de Souza. https://grokipedia.com/page/Flordelis_dos_Santos_de_Souza Note: this source was used for contextual overview of the story, and any facts from this that were used in our episode were double checked and confirmed from other source material listed here.

• IstoÉ. (2020, August 27). Casa de Flordelis tinha rituais com nudez, sexo e sangue, diz testemunha. https://istoe.com.br/casa-de-flordelis-tinha-rituais-secretos-com-nudez-sexo-e-ate-sangue-diz-testemunha/

• Latin Times. (2020, August 25). Brazilian evangelical congresswoman masterminded husband's brutal murder, police says. https://www.latintimes.com/brazilian-evangelical-congresswoman-masterminded-husbands-brutal-murder-police-says-461120

• Latin Times. (2022, November 16). Brazilian politician who killed her husband with the help of her children sentenced to 50 years in prison. https://www.latintimes.com/brazilian-politician-who-killed-her-husband-help-her-children-sentenced-50-years-533559

• MEL Magazine. (2021, March 22). Congresswoman, gospel singer, murder suspect: The wild story of Flordelis. https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/congresswoman-gospel-singer-murder-suspect-the-wild-story-of-flordelis

• MercoPress. (2021, August 12). Brazilian deputy stripped of immunity to stand trial for murdering her husband. https://en.mercopress.com/2021/08/12/brazilian-deputy-stripped-of-immunity-to-stand-trial-for-murdering-her-husband

• MercoPress. (2022, November 14). Former Brazilian lawmaker gets 50-year jail term. https://en.mercopress.com/2022/11/14/former-brazilian-lawmaker-gets-50-year-jail-term

• Museo de Ecología Humana. (2024, March 26). Epilogue: Witches in Brazil. https://museoecologiahumana.org/en/obras/epilogo-brujas-en-brasil-ejemplo-de-pervivencia-y-sincretismo/

• Oram, S. (Director), & Monteiro Filho, M. (Co-Director). (2022). Flordelis: A Family Crime [Documentary series]. Wall to Wall; Petterle Films; Viva Productions; HBO Max. https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Flordelis-A-Family-Crime-Flordelis-Em-Nome-da-M%C3%A3e/0SY738OPVY3T8KZXUU5U0H3Q94

• Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. (2019, April 26). Sexuality and black magic in Brazil. Oxford University Press. https://oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/oso/viewentry/10.1093$002facrefore$002f9780199366439.001.0001$002facrefore-9780199366439-e-629

• The Cinema Holic. (2024, March 7). Anderson do Carmo murder: How did he die? Who killed him? https://thecinemaholic.com/anderson-do-carmo-murder-how-did-he-die-who-killed-him/

• The Cinema Holic. (2024, June 3). Where is killer Flordelis dos Santos de Souza now? https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-killer-flordelis-dos-santos-de-souza-now/

• The Rio Times. (2019, August 25). Flordelis' household saw betrayal, swinging, and relationships between siblings, according to depositions. https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/miscellaneous/flordelis-household-saw-betrayal-swinging-and-relationships-between-siblings-according-to-testimonies/

• The Rio Times. (2020, August 25). Investigation finds federal deputy Flordelis had husband killed; police arrest seven. https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-de-janeiro/investigation-finds-flordelis-had-husband-killed-police-arrests-seven/

• The Rio Times. (2020, September 2). Accused deputy Flordelis offered daughter to evangelical pastors for sex, says witness. https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/politics-brazil/brazilian-deputy-flordelis-sexually-offered-daughter-to-evangelical-pastors-witness-says/

• The Rio Times. (2020, November 14). Detective testifies "there was intercourse between everyone" in Flordelis' family. https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/politics-brazil/there-was-intercourse-between-everyone-says-delegate-on-flordelis-family-in-hearing-on-andersons-death/

• Soo, S. (Host). (2023, December 3). Congresswoman adopted 55 children & turned them into killers (No. 317) [Audio podcast episode]. In Rotten Mango. Spotify. Note: used for contextual understanding only; no facts were drawn directly from this episode without cross-referencing other sources.

• Trenddetail News. (2022, November 13). Why did Flordelis kill her husband? Remember the murder of Pastor Anderson do Carmo. https://news.trenddetail.com/euro/236777.html

• TricksFast. (2020, September 5). Flordelis case: Behind the scenes of a crime that shocked Brazil. https://tricksfast.com/brazil/flordelis-case-behind-the-scenes-of-a-crime-that-shocked-brazil-brazil/

• Wikipedia. (2025, December 15). Candelária massacre. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelária_massacre Note: this was used as a source only for a brief sentence explaining what the massacre was. I only use Wikipedia for contextual overviews of topics, or to gain brief understandings, not to pull facts relevant to cases.

• Yahoo News / The Independent. (2021, August 12). Flordelis: Evangelical church empire leader and celebrity ousted from Brazil's congress over alleged role in husband's death. https://www.yahoo.com/news/flordelis-evangelical-church-empire-leader-122826091.html