Brazil police rule Gatti’s death suicide

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Boxer Arturo Gatti’s death was ruled a suicide by police Thursday and a a judge
ordered the release of his wife, who was once suspected of killing the former champion.
Lead investigator Paulo Alberes told The Associated Press that authorities decided Gatti killed himself
on July 11 while at a seaside resort in northeastern Brazil.
When asked if police had determined the case was a suicide, Alberes said "yes." He offered no
other details.
A day after the 37-year-old Gatti was found dead, police said that his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues,
had strangled him with her purse strap as he drunkenly slept.
But police began to back off the accusation about a week later after a coroner’s report said Gatti may
have killed himself as he was found "suspended and hanged." The autopsy report didn’t exclude
the possibility he was slain, but said he also could have died in an unexplained accident, besides
killing himself.
"The police investigation concluded that Arturo killed himself," said Celio Avelino, Rodrigues’
attorney. "I’ve said before it would have been impossible for her to suspend and hang a man of that
size."
Judge Ildete Verissimo de Lima ordered the immediate release of the 23-year-old Rodrigues after receiving
the police report.
The judge wrote in the ruling that police informed the court "the detention of the suspect was no
longer needed" as the investigation "excludes the possibility of murder."
"The victim … committed suicide by hanging," Lima’s ruling read, referring to the police
investigation findings.
Rodrigues will walk out of jail Thursday afternoon, said her lawyer, Avelino.
Gatti was found dead in the apartment he was renting with Rodrigues in the resort town of Porto de
Galinhas. The pair arrived there a few days before Gatti’s death for a second honeymoon. The couple
brought their 10-month-old son, who was unhurt and is in the care of Rodrigues’ family in Brazil.

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