Jorlan Lopes da Silva, a 33-year-old man suspected in a string of killings in northeastern Brazil, was arrested Sunday in Mulungu, Paraíba, after a roughly 48-hour manhunt by Civil and Military Police. Officers found him attempting to flee while dressed as a woman and carrying a toddler who was not related to him.
According to police, Lopes da Silva wore a dress, a wig, women’s sandals, sunglasses and painted nails. He held a roughly 2-year-old child in his arms as he tried to pass checkpoints. Investigators said the disguise and the child were intended to hinder identification. He was recognized when his dress shifted and exposed a tattoo. Reports indicate he had returned to a residence where he had been hiding, possibly to retrieve a revolver and leave the child, before the final confrontation.
The child was unharmed and is not a relative of Lopes da Silva. Authorities are investigating how the toddler came to be with him. Two other men linked to the same criminal group were also detained during the operation in Mulungu.
Police say Lopes da Silva is under investigation for at least 16 homicides committed over approximately three months in the Vale do Mamanguape region after his release from prison in late May 2026. Some accounts place the total under official scrutiny closer to 21. Delegado Douglas Garcia, who is leading the case for the Civil Police of Paraíba, has stated that investigators already possess technical evidence and confessions connecting him to those recent killings.
One of the cases involves the double homicide of two shopkeepers on Aug. 1 in Rio Tinto. Police say Lopes da Silva participated with four other men and later indicated the precise location where one of the bodies was buried. He is also linked to other killings in the area, some carried out in daylight.
During interrogation, Lopes da Silva told investigators he had killed about 80 people over two decades, beginning at age 13. Garcia described the confession as delivered “with much coldness.” Police have not confirmed the lifetime total and are reviewing unsolved homicide files across the state for possible connections. Garcia has said the number is “very significant” and that if it is not exact, it is likely close.
Lopes da Silva has claimed he acted out of a “personal war,” saying he targeted people involved in crime who threatened his family or forced residents from their homes. He has denied belonging to a criminal faction and insisted he never harmed ordinary workers or parents. Investigators dispute that account, noting that some of the recent victims do not fit the description of active criminals.
Authorities describe him as tied to a highly violent criminal organization with roots in Rio de Janeiro that operates in Paraíba. He had spent roughly five or six years in prison over his adult life before his most recent release. Five preventive arrest warrants, most related to aggravated homicide, were already outstanding when he was captured. After a custody hearing, a judge converted the detention into preventive imprisonment without a set term, and he was transferred to the Penitenciária Desembargador Sílvio Porto in João Pessoa.
Lopes da Silva had previously escaped a police confrontation about 20 days earlier in Rio Tinto, then hid in a community in Cabedelo associated with the same criminal group before moving into wooded areas near Mulungu. Civil and Military Police, supported by intelligence units, conducted the continuous search that ended with his arrest on Sept. 13.
The investigation continues. Officers are still determining the full scope of the killings attributed to him, the circumstances surrounding the toddler, and the precise nature of any faction ties. Brazilian outlets including G1 Paraíba, O Globo and CNN Brasil, along with international coverage, have reported the case based on official statements from the Civil Police of Paraíba.
