A former Brazilian professional footballer has reportedly been beheaded and his head left on the doorstep of his home in Rio de Janeiro in a rucksack, which was discovered by his horrified wife as she left the house for work on Tuesday morning.
Police said that the eyes and tongue of 35-year-old Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos had been cut and his head placed inside one of his own rucksacks.
According to the Mirror, Santos, who had retired from football two years ago after a successful career playing for several teams in Rio de Janeiro, Sweden and Honduras, had recently set up his own business selling health foods and dietary supplements.
Police further said that Santos is believed to have been kidnapped as he closed up his shop late on Monday night, adding that witnesses saw several men bundling Santos into his car and speeding off just before midnight.
Although Santos' wife was a social worker in a military police base in a local slum, the police said that she did not patrol the streets or made arrests like other police officers, with Santos' relatives claiming that neither the footballer nor his wife had any enemies.
Investigators are probing whether Santos was murdered by a drugs gang because of the work of his wife, with the report adding that police have begun searching for the rest of Santos' body.
