March 26, 2011
Dear Family and Friends of Raymond,
March 27th would have been his 61st birthday. April 1st is the fifth anniversary of his brutal murder. There is not a day that goes by in which I am reminded of this tragedy.
I continue to check with the attorneys in Brazil that have been hired for the case to help with the prosecution when it does go to trial. Since my last posting on the web site, there are no new developments in the case.
As of January 24, 2011 things are still in a holding pattern.
The attorneys inform me of the following:
"REGINA, NELSON and EVANDRO are still in custody.
The Trial was not scheduled so far.
No more new developments.
The Trial may happen in 2011, but not sure. We need to wait next steps."
The most important thing is that the criminals are behind bars. They are deprived of the life of luxury they imagined enjoying with Raymond's ill begotten money. Their luxurious spending spree was short lived. Hah! All the better that they should have such a taste of the "good life" only to have it taken away very shortly after their evil deeds!
Now, much to my delight, they are living in "Palace Purgatory" - a Brazilian prison with all its famous horrors. Yessssss!!!!
The Brazilian justice system is different than ours. There is no death penalty for pre-meditated murder. The maximum sentence is 35 years. Let's hope these miserable people spend the rest of their life behind bars.
I will keep you informed of any new developments as soon as I learn of them. In the meantime, let's keep the faith that all will turn out well and that justice will be fully served.
Thank you all again for your continued support and friendship.
Warmly,
Marcia
---------------------------------------------2008----------------------------------------------
Dear Family and Friends of Raymond,
I have some very exciting news! Nelson de Sequeira Neves, has been captured and arrested!
You might recall, he was Regina Rachid's boyfriend and one of accomplices in the crimes
against Raymond. He has been a fugitive for almost two years.
Yesterday, I checked the emails I have for Justice4Raymond@yahoo.com. I received an email
from someone in Brazil who notified me about Neves' arrest and he provided a couple of
links to Brazilian newspapers. For those of you who don't read Portuguese, below is a
rough translation of what the articles say.
http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultnot/agencia/2008/09/20/ult4469u31007.jhtm
9/29/08 Arrested in the South of Minas Gerais, the Last Defendant of Killing US Musician
Sao Paulo- Yesterday , south of Minas Gerais, the police handcuffed the suspect involved
in the the death of the North American composer, Raymond James Merrill. Nelson Sequeira
Neves, 40 years old, was taken to Sao Paulo to the police station to give a statement in
Sao Jose dos Campos the the Valley of Paraiba. The crime occurred in April of 2006.
According to police, the musician was drugged with sedatives and alcoholic beverages by his
girlfriend (Regina Rachid), the author of the crime. They had met on the internet and it was
Merrill's third visit to Brazil. With the help of Neves and another man, the girlfriend obtained
the passwords to the credit cards of the victim. They immediately made withdrawals and
afterwards, strangled the North American with a copper wire and they set him on fire.
The body of the composer was found burned in the outskirts of Cacapava.
http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultnot/agencia/2008/09/20/ult4469u31007.jhtm
Prisoner ultimo defendant of participate of the murder of American in S. José of the Campos
SAO PAULO Civil Police apprehended this Friday, the last suspect accused of participating in
the murder of the North American, Raymond James Merrill, in Sao José of the Campos, in the
Vale of Paraíba. The musician, Merrill died in 2006.
His was burned and abandoned on a rural road of Cacapava. Investigations show that that
the American was sedated with strong medicines and maintained prisoner in home of his
girlfriend for five days before his death. During that time, the three suspects made
withdrawals of $100,000 (from his accounts).
The suspect accused of participating in the death of the American is Nelson Siqueira Neves.
He was detained in the city of Delfim Moreira, south of the state of Minas Gerais. He
carrying false documentation when was detained by the police. The suspect has been a
fugitive from justice since the death of the musician.
Regina Rachid and Evandro Augusto Ribeiro, who also participated in the crime, were
imprisoned in the same year. Regina dated the musician whom she met through the internet.
Evandro indicated the suspect's (Neves) participation in the crime. It was he (Evandro) who
showed police where the body had been left.
I do not know yet all the details of his capture. I will let you know more when I find out.
The attorneys in Brazil that I have retained for the case, have informed me that the police
will interview Neves and he will be formally indicted. There will be more witness depositions.
I hope this means he will reveal information about Ana Paula Rachid, Regina's daughter.
I am still working on having her re-investigated and ultimately indicted and imprisoned with
the rest of the scum-bags.
According to the Brazilian lawyers, the trials are still a couple of years down the road. I don't
mind that too much as long as the criminals are in prison awaiting trial. They are deprived of
their freedom and the fancy lives they thought they were going to enjoy as Raymond's expense.
I am leaving tomorrow , Sept. 29, for a three day vacation to Niagara Falls with my husband,
Rick. It is a belated honeymoon and the timing could not be better. It was Sept. 23, 2006
(one week before our wedding) after a six month investigation, that the US Consulate called
me and notified me of Evandro Celso's confession to how the crime was enacted and what his
role was. So is appropriate timing to go on a delayed honeymoon with some positive news.
This is a long awaited turn of events in this horrific tragedy. I could not wait to share the
news with all of you who have been so supportive and caring.
I take this opportunity to once again thank all of you for being there for Raymond, me
and our family.
Warmest Regards,
Marcia Sanchez -Loebick