Former military police officer Ronnie Lessa stated in a Supreme Federal Court hearing that he accepted to kill Councilwoman Marielle Franco out of greed. He described the crime, committed in December 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, as foolishness and expressed regret.

Lessa, who made a plea bargain, reiterated that he was hired by the brothers Domingos and Chiquinho Brazão to carry out the crime.

He repeated that he was promised the exploitation of lands in Rio as a reward, which could yield him, according to his statement, R$ 25 million.

"That [possibility of getting rich] had an impact on me. It was greed, I let myself be carried away. I didn’t even need it. I was in a very calm phase of my life. And I fell into this foolishness."