Groom Kills Bride, Best Man, Self At Wedding

RIO DE JANEIRO — A bridegroom fatally shot his new wife, his best man and then himself after announcing to horrified guests that he had a "surprise" for them, authorities said Monday.

Witnesses reported that 29-year-old Rogerio Damascena, a sales manager in Camaragibe, outside the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, did not give any previous indication that anything was wrong at his wedding reception, police investigator Joao Brito said.

Brito would not speculate on a possible motive, saying family members were in shock and he had not interviewed them yet.

Brito did say the killings are believed to be premeditated because of the groom's announcement and because he had hidden a gun in his father's pickup truck.

Twenty-five-year-old bride Renata Alexandre Costa Coelho and best man Marcelo Guimaraes were both killed in Saturday's murder-suicide. A brother of the bride was treated at a hospital and released.

The website Globo.com quoted a sister of the bride who left before the shootings as saying she didn't believe it was a crime of passion.

"My sister was a wonderful person who loved and wanted to be loved," Lucia Helena Coelho was quoted as saying.

"He was happy, she was happy, the party was beautiful. His family adored her and doesn't understand this," Coelho told Globo.com. "He revealed himself as a sociopath who fooled the entire family and killed his best friend, who was ... the best man."

Comments

[JonBFertippton]

10:31 AM on 12/26/2010

Othello and The Spanish Tragedy packed into one story. This event is so lurid and utterly senseless that it is bound to be made into a film in Hollywood, with the planning stage starting next week. We will be able to see it during the next Christmas marketing season. I won't be attending.

[joemac1114]

11:32 PM on 12/24/2010

You can speculate all you want, but the reality is there is great sadness that each family will bear and will relive each holiday season for the rest of their lives. Its tragic that the groom felt this was his best option. My prayers for each family.

[foxisms]

08:33 PM on 12/23/2010

I believe there may have been a little love triangle going on here or the groom thought there was.
This is not the act of a sociopath
This is the act of a man who believes he has nothing to lose on his wedding day.

[Brentasaurus]

03:57 PM on 12/26/2010

i completely agree

[VeggieLove]

08:12 PM on 12/23/2010

The horror.

[Dr. Cara Barker]

07:58 PM on 12/23/2010

It is so easy to speculate as to the whys and wherefores of such a tragic act. One minute there is life and its celebration, the next, a gasp at what is no longer. Just a few hours ago, a favorite family member of mine was killed in a plane accident as he made his way home to his waiting family, following his work as an E.R. doc many miles away. His plane hit an ice storm. One moment here, the next, gone.

Let's forget wasting our time in the speculation department, although so tempting, like the gawking of an accident we drive by. What is this really, save an awareness that we are here to live more gloriously, bravely, courageously, awake, and more beautifully authentic, than we often give our permission to do.

May the family in the above trajedy, and each of you HP readers, live well today. May you be surrounded in what's worthwhile, and be reminded of how vital you are to us each. Happy holidays,
Cara

[foxisms]

08:35 PM on 12/23/2010

I (and I'm sure many of us) hope you can find peace with your own challenging loss, Cara.

[gdcb1128]

09:16 PM on 12/23/2010

Thank you. "we are here to live more gloriously, bravely, courageously, awake, and more beautifully authentic, than we often give our permission to do." Perfectly stated.

[Victor Del Prete]

02:50 PM on 12/23/2010

Having lived in Brasil for several years and knowking how everybody f**ks everybody there, this doesn't surprise me at all. It's a sex culture and rarely do you find somebody who isn't "infiel."

[Need To Know Why]

08:56 PM on 12/23/2010

Ha, ha, ha, ha. Fanned and faved for just gving me the BEST laugh I've had in a week!!

[Need To Know Why]

09:00 PM on 12/23/2010

I mean no disrespect for the families loss. It was just jalaroc's comment was SO straight but funny to me at the same time. I have a dark humour streak, I'm afraid. My apologies if I offended anyone.

[Eric Hightower]

12:28 PM on 12/23/2010

On a tasteless note, the family is trying to return the ring for a refund.

[LawrenceL]

12:00 PM on 12/23/2010

It's a particularly horrible tragedy. My condolences to the families and friends.

[Dr. Cara Barker]

08:00 PM on 12/23/2010

Line me up as your newest fan. Your sensitivity and sense of connection touches me deeply. Bravo. You are making a difference simply being you, LawrenceL.

Joy and peace to you and yours.
Cara

[jetle25]

11:23 AM on 12/23/2010

honestly. WTF

[handsome stranger]

11:00 AM on 12/23/2010

In Brazil, men still expect their brides to be virgins. Though no one can know what really happened here, I am confident that the groom made a "discovery" about his bride's past that drove him over the edge.

[Jonny Mnemonic]

07:10 PM on 12/23/2010

Doubtful but certainly possible. Doubtful because they have surgery to restore virginity - actually, the hymen. It's called hymenoplasty. I know this from personal experience because an entrapment scheme perpetrated upon me in Turkey resulted in me having to purchase a hymenoplasty for a Turkish woman. (Almost caused an international incident too. Weird times.)

[bagelmaven]

10:49 AM on 12/23/2010

Sheesh, couldn't he just have asked her for the ring back???

[evelynr]

03:08 AM on 12/23/2010

Maybe the groom was having an affair with his best man and the bride found out...

[Deni]

12:40 PM on 12/23/2010

Or the groom thought the bride and the best man had something going on...

[justanotherbushhater]

01:22 PM on 12/23/2010

Cool the detecting, Sherlock. "Maybe the groom was secretly in love with the best man and was being forced into a straight marriage by his family." See, anyone can make this stuff up! From the details and testimony in the story, it appears he simply went bonkers. Who knows what he was thinking?

[Dr. Cara Barker]

08:03 PM on 12/23/2010

consider yourself fanned! I am so thankful for your willingness to simply say what needs saying. None of us really know. You, my friend, are a contribution. Thanks for taking the time to come by, and add common sense, and avoid the temptation to 'meddle' with speculation based on fantasy. Good for you!

Joy your way,
Cara

[foxisms]

08:38 PM on 12/23/2010

Sometimes, with no ill intent, we learn from the trials and tribulations of others. It's just what members of a collective do.
Of no one will ever know.
But there is still something that all of us, even those not remotely involved with it can learn.
If about nothing else than what a mystery this life business is.

[roger g]

02:52 AM on 12/23/2010

I,ve heard of getting cold feet but this is extreme--It is really sad for all 3 families involved--really strange to go thru with the wedding and apparently the reception and then do this--will never understand what makes some humans tick--may their souls rest in peace.

[Dr. Cara Barker]

08:05 PM on 12/23/2010

I'm fanning you this moment, roger. Your sensitivity is something our poor, worn out world needs desparately. I'm with you in your wish. I'm also grateful that you not only read these blogs, but take your time to respond. Clearly, you are a giver. Well done. I'm looking forward to hearing more from your clear Voice.

May the holidays be good to you,
Cara

[roger g]

08:49 PM on 12/23/2010

Thanks Fanned back and Happy Holidays to you also

[roger g]

09:34 PM on 12/23/2010

Thanks Backatcha--Happy Holidays

[Mithrall]

09:53 PM on 12/22/2010

I would think that if he had plotted this out as revenge for his best friend sleeping with his bride to be that he would have outed them for the infidelity before shooting them. He chose to do this when he would have an audience and all he said was "I've got a suprise"? It doesn't make any sense but then again shooting someone is usually pretty senseless to begin with.

[GordonNYC]

07:45 PM on 12/22/2010

An unhappy 3some.