Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

AP Worldstream: Brazilian judge convicts handyman in killing of US couple

A 22-year-old handyman has been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2003 killing of an American couple, authorities said Sunday.
Jossiel Conceicao dos Santos was found guilty of killing Shell oil executive Todd Staheli, 39, and his wife Michelle, 36, in a ruling late Friday night, said Luis Carlos Puglialli, a spokesman with Rio's justice department.
The Stahelis, originally from Spanish Fork, Utah, were bludgeoned to death in bed at home in an exclusive Rio de Janeiro neighborhood on Nov. 30, 2003. The couple, survived by four young children, had been in Brazil for three months.
With nothing robbed and no signs of forced entry, the case stumped police for months before Dos Santos was arrested in April 2004, after allegedly trying to break into another home in the complex where the Stahelis lived.
Dos Santos confessed to the killings but later recanted, and a judge released him without charges, citing a lack of physical evidence.
Initial DNA tests failed to link Santos to the crime, but further tests on clothing turned up traces of blood belonging to both victims.
In his confession, Santos said he killed Todd Staheli first, hitting him in the head with a crowbar. He then hit Michelle Staheli with the crowbar when he realized she was awake. She died in a hospital four days later.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.