Family of environmentalists is found dead in São Félix do Xingu

José Gomes and Márcia Nunes Lisboa and their daughter, Joene Nunes Lisboa, were found dead with gunshot wounds on January 9 in the rural area of São Félix do Xingu, southeast Pará, near the family home.

The police found 18 gunshot capsules at the scene. They suspect that the execution has been carried out by gunmen at least three days before the bodies were found.

José and Maria had lived for more than 20 years in the region of Cachoeira da Mucura and developed an environmental project to protect turtles, releasing thousands of baby turtles in the Xingu River every year.

The Federal Public Prosecution is accompanying the investigation. A prosecutor said that the murders happened in a “a context of a number of attacks against environmentalists and human rights defenders in the country”.