Suzane von Richthofen

Suzane von Richthofen
A sketch of Von Richthofen
Born	(1983-11-03) November 3, 1983 (age 37) São Paulo, Brazil
Criminal status	Incarcerated
Spouse(s)	Rogério Olberg ​ (m. 2017)​ [1]
Parent(s)	Manfred Albert von Richthofen Marisia von Richthofen
Motive	Wish to inherit her parents' fortune
Conviction(s)	Patricide, matricide
Criminal penalty	40 years

Suzane Louise von Richthofen (born November 3, 1983)^[2] is a Brazilian woman who was convicted of murdering her parents on October 31, 2002, with the help of her boyfriend and his brother. She was put on trial in São Paulo in July 2006 and was sentenced to forty years in prison.

Life[]

Suzane von Richthofen is the daughter of German engineer Manfred Albert von Richthofen and Lebanese-Brazilian psychiatrist Marisia von Richthofen (née Marísia Sílvia Abdalla),^[3] and an allegedly distant relative of the famous German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen.^[4] Suzane's father was a director of DERSA, a state-owned company which manages São Paulo's highway system, and the chief engineer for the Mário Covas beltway project.^[5] She has a younger brother, Andreas Albert von Richthofen. After graduating from a German high school, Suzane studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. In the summer of 1999, she started attending a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, where she met and began a relationship with Daniel Cravinhos de Paula e Silva.

Suzane's family had a R$5.5 million declared net worth. However, prosecutors suspect that two anonymous accounts in Swiss banks, containing at least €10 million, were opened by Suzane's father in her name in November 2001, when she turned 18. Suzane's father is thought to have embezzled this money from DERSA. Nothing prevents Suzane from gaining access to the money after serving her sentence.^[6][7]

Murder[]

In the late hours of October 31, 2002, Suzane von Richthofen, who had planned the murder of her parents for months, checked if they were already asleep, then disconnected the alarm system of the estate and opened the door to her boyfriend, Daniel Cravinhos (21), and his brother, Christian Cravinhos (26), who had been waiting outside. The Cravinhos 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 Christian ate at a fast food restaurant. Early in the morning, Suzane and Daniel picked up her little brother, Andreas, at an internet cafe and went home, where they "discovered" the crime scene, called the police, and told them their story.^[8]

However, 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 the children and the employees of the Richthofen family. Police were suspicious of not only the crime scene, with the alarm system switched off and the papers spread very regularly, as if by design, but also Suzane's cold behaviour – 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. The investigators began shadowing Suzane and Daniel. They also learned that Christian 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; Suzane soon confessed to the murder.^[9]

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.^[10]

Motives[]

Suzane's parents, who initially allowed her to date Daniel, changed their opinion when they discovered that he used marijuana almost daily, was unwilling to work or attend school, and came from a lower-class background. 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 in which she could live with Daniel. Her father refused, saying that she could do whatever she liked only if she earned money herself.^[9] She continued meeting Daniel secretly. Suzane claimed that her actions were motivated by love, and a fear that Daniel would leave her if the parents were not killed.^[11] Her lawyer, Denivaldo Barni, said that Suzane had no motive at all, but was forced to the crime by Daniel, whom she adored like a god.

Another part of the motive may have been the parents' wealth, estimated at about seventeen million dollars, which Suzane would inherit in the event of the parents' death. As Prosecutor Roberto Tardelli put it, Suzane wanted to "get her hands on the money and assets her parents had worked so hard to obtain"; she "wanted her freedom and independence without having to work for it".^[4] On trial, Daniel Cravinhos claimed that Suzane was physically violated by her father, which she and her brother Andreas von Richthofen deny. It was also claimed that the Richthofen parents were alcoholics, but in the autopsy no alcohol was detected in their bodies.^[9]

In 2018, a justice denied request of freedom for von Richthofen, citing her egocentrism and a narcissistic personality disorder as serious personality traits that may have led to her crime.^[12]

Trial[]

On June 5, 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. The trial was delayed and finally started on July 17. On trial, Suzane blamed Daniel Cravinhos for everything, while the Cravinhos brothers claimed that they acted on her wishes. Prosecutor Roberto Tardelli, however, called Suzane the "mastermind"^[4] of the crime. Roberto Tardelli called for 50 years imprisonment for each of the three defendants. Suzane was described as a "personification of the evil blonde".^[13] On July 22, 2006, Suzane was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime. Daniel Cravinhos got the same sentence and his brother Christian was sentenced to 38 years for conspiracy.^[14]

As of February 2020, she is in custody in a women's prison outside São Paulo.

Brazilian public attention[]

The case generated significant media attention in Brazil due to the stark contrast between the brutal crime and what was initially perceived to be the personality of the daughter. While the Cravinhos brothers fit the stereotype of the uneducated, unemployed, drug-addicted killers, this was not true for Suzane: She was a pretty girl from an upper-middle-class family of German and Lebanese descent, "well-behaved", always doing well at school, speaking three foreign languages and doing ballet.^[14] A discussion emerged in the Brazilian public about the worth of family values and the effects of education: Does a high standard of education and high class status lead to good character? The question as to whether Suzane was the evil mind behind the crime or just Daniel's tool was also widely discussed. Suzane's reputation was severely damaged by a TV interview in which a hot mic before the interview started, captured her lawyer instructing her to cry out loud during the broadcast, to create public sympathy.^[13] The interview dealt a major blow to her credibility. In court, Suzane's behaviour was reported as 'cold', at one occasion laughing, which stood in contrast to the Cravinhos brothers who were emotional, and visibly crying during the trial.

In popular culture[]

The book Richthofen: O assassinato dos pais de Suzane, by Roger Franchini, was published in 2011. The work describes the murder and the subsequent events.^[15]

The book Suzane - Assassina e manipuladora, by Ullisses Campbell, was published in 2020. This book is more focused in the life of Suzane von Richthofen and her psychological profile.^[16]

The 2021 Brazilian films A menina que matou os pais and O menino que matou meus pais are two different depictions of the crime. Brazilian actress Carla Diaz portrays Suzane von Richthofen in both films.^[17]

References[]