Memory

Tales from the haunted house

Book tries to unravel the riddle of the murders at Castelinho da Rua Apa

One of the capital's iconic crimes has become the subject of a book. On January 3, the book Castelinho da Rua Apa (Editora Equilíbrio, 200 pages, 40 reais) will reconstruct the tragedy of May 12, 1937. Members of the high society, brothers Álvaro and Armando dos Reis were found dead alongside their mother, Maria Cândida, in the famous house in Santa Cecilia. There are several theses to explain the case; however, until this day it remains without solution. One of the most popular theories claims that during a fight, the children would have exchanged shots and accidentally hit the 73-year-old lady. On the other hand, the book sustains that the trio would have been assassinated by a fourth person, whose identity never was revealed. To defend this theory, the work brings together documents such as the Bulletin of the Medical-Legal Institute and the report of the expertise with the position of the bodies. "My intention is to clear the family's name," says the author, Leda Kiehl, Maria Cândida's niece-great-granddaughter. Currently abandoned, the mansion is avfigure stamped on lists of haunted spots. Over the past several decades, several neighbors have reported seeing lumps in the area. A few days ago, the city released funds for the revitalization of the property, which was registered in 2004.

Captions

Upper photo: brothers Álvaro and Armando (to the left and in the center) and their mother, Maria Cândida (to the right.) - hight society

Bottom photo: the mansion on the night of the tragedy, newspapers of the time and the weapon of crime: past exhumed