Suzane von Richthofen

Suzane von Richthofen is the daughter of the late 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 Red Baron.[4] Her 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] Suzane 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 and there she met Daniel Cravinhos de Paula e Silva, who became her boyfriend.

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. Manfred von Richthofen is thought to have embezzled this money from DERSA. Nothing prevents Suzane from gaining access to the money after serving her sentence.[6][7]

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 21-year-old-boyfriend, Daniel Cravinhos and his brother, 26-year-old Christian Cravinhos, who had been waiting outside. The Cravinhos brothers went upstairs to the parents' bedroom and hit them with iron bars before strangling them with towels. Suzane was waiting in the living room downstairs. After the murder was accomplished, the three simulated a break-in by pocketing money they found, spreading papers in the library, and creating a mess in the house. Then they left; Suzane and Daniel went to a motel, while Christian went to a fast-food restaurant. Early in the morning, Suzane and Daniel picked up her little brother, Andreas, then aged 15, at an internet cafe and went home, where they "discovered" the crime, called the police at once and told them their story.[8]

The investigating officers, however, 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. What made them suspicious was 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 focused their attention on Suzane and her boyfriend and began shadowing them. The arrest was prompted by Christian Cravinhos, who had bought a motorcycle a few days later and paid cash in 100-dollar bills, which aroused suspicion based on his normal income levels. A few days later, on November 9, 2002 he was arrested, as well as his brother and Suzane, who soon confessed to the murder.[9] Suzane was released from prison in May 2005, when the Supreme Court of Justice granted her habeas corpus. She then awaited her trial under house arrest.[10]

Suzane's parents, who at first allowed her relationship to Daniel Cravinhos, changed their opinion when they discovered that he used marijuana almost daily. They were reportedly also concerned by his lower-class background and his unwillingness to work or to attend school. In July, 2002, her parents were on vacation, so Daniel moved in with the children for a month, much to Suzane's delight. When the parents came back home, Suzane suggested they buy her a flat in which she could live with Daniel, but her father refused, saying that she could do whatever she liked to only if she earned money herself.[9] She continued meeting Daniel secretly. Suzane claimed that her actions were movitated 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]

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.

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. Susane's reputation was severely damaged by a TV interiew 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.

The book Richtofen: 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 Richtofen and her psychological profile.[16]

The 2020 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 Richtofen in both films.[17]