Pedrinho Matador, Who Spent 42 Years in Brazilian Prisons, Is Shot Dead in Mogi das Cruzes
Pedro Rodrigues Filho, who claimed more than 100 killings and had been free since 2018, was gunned down outside a house in greater São Paulo on a Sunday morning.
Published
Pedro Rodrigues Filho, the man Brazil knew as Pedrinho Matador, "Little Pete the Killer," was shot dead on the morning of Sunday, March 5, 2023, in the Ponte Grande neighborhood of Mogi das Cruzes, in greater São Paulo. He had spent 42 years in prison, off and on, and had been free since 2018.
He was outside a house when the attackers came. According to the Military Police, a car pulled up near him and two men opened fire several times; by the time the first patrol car arrived, he was dead. Metrópoles, citing the local paper Hoje Diário, described several hooded men getting out of a car to shoot him, and said at least six bullets struck him. A team from SAMU, the emergency medical service, pronounced him dead at the scene. His body was found at about 10 a.m., Notícias de Mogi reported. Mogi das Cruzes Civil Police confirmed to Metrópoles that the body found in the street was his, and forensic investigators were called in.
Police located a black Volkswagen Gol believed to have been used to carry the suspects, Notícias de Mogi reported, and said they were working on the theory that the killing was revenge. No suspect was named that day.
The man they called Pedrinho Matador
Rodrigues Filho faced charges in 71 homicides, according to Metrópoles, and in interviews he claimed to have killed more than 100 people. Among them, he said, was his own father, whom he killed in prison after his father murdered his mother. Metrópoles described him as the deadliest killer in Brazil's history. Since his release he had spoken often at evangelical churches, run a YouTube channel and given podcast interviews about his life.
Early reports disagreed on some details. Metrópoles gave his age as 69 and Notícias de Mogi as 68. The Military Police account relayed by Notícias de Mogi described two gunmen; Metrópoles, citing Hoje Diário, described several hooded men. Metrópoles said he faced charges in 71 homicides, while Notícias de Mogi said his official record listed 11 killings and seven attempted murders. His claim of more than 100 killings is his own and was never established. Who killed him, and why, was not known when he died.
Sources
- Serial killer Pedrinho Matador é assassinado em Mogi das Cruzes, Metrópoles, André Júnior
- Serial killer Pedrinho Matador é morto a tiros em Mogi das Cruzes, Notícias de Mogi