Pereira was born on November 29, 1967, in Sao Jose do Rio Preto and worked as a motorcycle courier in Sao Paulo. He approached women in the street, said he was scouting models for photographic work, and took them by motorcycle to the Parque do Estado, a large forest reserve on the southern edge of the city. Nine women survived attacks there and gave evidence against him.
The case broke in early July 1998, when four bodies were found in the reserve over three days. The manhunt that followed was one of the largest in Brazilian history and ended with his arrest in August 1998. Brazilian reporting called him the park maniac, and he was known as Motoboy, after the courier work.
He was convicted of seven murders, with sentences totalling more than 260 years; the figures reported are 268 and 285 years, and the discrepancy has never been resolved in the coverage. He confessed to more killings than he was convicted of, and higher totals up to eleven circulate on that basis. The prosecution's position was that the additional deaths could not be proved, and the convictions are the only firm figure.
Brazilian law at the time of sentencing limited time actually served to thirty years, so his release is expected around 2028. Edilson Mougenot Bonfim, who prosecuted him at the jury trial, has said publicly that he expects him to kill again. He is held at the Iaras penitentiary in the interior of Sao Paulo state.