‘Sister felt that something bad would happen, she just didn’t know it was with her,’ says sister of young woman killed by drug dealer at funk dance in Rio

Sister felt that something bad would happen, she just didn’t know it was with her,’ says sister of young woman killed by drug dealer at funk dance in RioSther Barroso dos Santos, 22, dreamed she was being attacked by several men one day before being brutally beaten by criminals in the Coreia community, in the West Zone of Rio. The sister of the late Sther Barroso dos Santos, 22, who was murdered by traffickers after refusing to leave the funk dance with the drug boss in the early hours of Sunday, told Globo in an interview that the young woman ‘dreamed of being attacked by several men and cornered in an alley’ a day before her death. She recounts that the young woman’s body was delivered ‘disfigured’ and left at their mother’s door. Sther was rescued by relatives and taken to the Albert Schweitzer Municipal Hospital in Realengo, but she had already died upon arrival at the facility. Her body will be buried on Wednesday at the Ricardo de Albuquerque Cemetery in the North Zone of Rio. ‘She had a bad dream the day before she was killed. She dreamed she was cornered by some men. I think she felt that something bad would happen, but she didn’t imagine it would be with her,’ said the victim’s sister, who, for security reasons, will not be identified. Sther Barroso dos Santos was beaten to death after refusing to stay with a drug dealer at a funk dance. According to the family, Sther was tortured and left lifeless at the door of the house where she lived in Vila Aliança, by two men at the behest of Bruno da Silva Loureiro, known as Coronel, who is identified as the chief of the community linked to the Third Pure Command. The crime was allegedly motivated by Sther’s refusal to leave the dance with the criminal. Relatives also report that the young woman was fulfilling personal dreams, such as getting a driver’s license and moving to a new apartment. According to the sister, the young woman had no involvement in criminal activities and was living a period of personal achievements. ‘My sister was very connected to God. Her connection with Him revealed something. She managed to finance an apartment in her name, for her and her family, and fulfilled the dream of having a motorcycle. She was starting a course and worked at her first job as a cashier. She was in a moment of realization of her life, after much suffering. The bitter weight of losing this fight, my mother’s crying, the whole favela has to listen. It’s inhumane what they did to my sister. They delivered her lifeless, completely disfigured,’ she added. Sther Barroso dos Santos was beaten to death after refusing to stay with the drug dealer at a funk dance. The young woman was the youngest of eight siblings. She was raised in a simple house by their mother alone. From a young age, she learned to deal with life’s difficulties. Sther also had many plans for the future: to get a driver’s license, move to a new apartment, complete courses, adopt a dog, and eventually become a mother. In personal notebooks, the young woman wrote down that 2025 would be ‘the best year of my life’. On social media, friends and family expressed their emotions and demanded justice. Everyone highlights that Sther was calm, dedicated to her family, and dreamed of a life different from the violence that plagues the communities.