Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine has called on Nebraska's congressional delegation for help in persuading the Brazilian government to extradite a man charged in the deaths of a family of missionaries in Omaha.
In Washington, D.C., last week for a national district attorneys meeting, Kleine met with U.S. Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns, along with U.S. Rep. Lee Terry.
Kleine said prosecutors need all the help they can get from elected officials, the U.S. Justice Department and the State Department as they attempt to extradite Elias Lourenco-Batista from Brazil.
Lourenco is one of three men accused in the Dec. 17, 2009, murders of Vanderlei and Jaqueline Szczepanik and their 7-year-old son, Christopher. Authorities allege that the three men beat Vanderlei Szczepanik to death before hanging Jaqueline and little Christopher.
Federal authorities deported Lourenco in the spring of 2011 after prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to charge him.
Then one of Lourenco's co-workers, Valdeir Goncalves-Santos, confessed to the crimes in August and agreed to testify against Lourenco and a third worker, Jose "Carlos" Oliveira-Coutinho. Oliveira is awaiting trial.
Following his deportation, Lourenco was last known to be in Ipaba, the village that once was home to all three Brazilian workers.
Extraditing Lourenco may take a Herculean diplomatic effort. The Brazilian Constitution prohibits the extradition of its citizens to face trial in another country — no matter the charges. Several high-profile criminals have taken refuge in Brazil.
Kleine and his prosecutors are emphasizing what they believe is a critical distinction in this case: that both the defendants and victims are Brazilian nationals.
Kleine said he was encouraged by how attentive Nebraska's elected officials were. Jaqueline Szczepanik's daughter also has been urging prominent Brazilians to act.
"We want to bring this guy back, but this has risen to a level of diplomacy that is obviously out of our hands," Kleine said. "I'm hopeful. To me, it's the right thing to do. They (Nelson, Johanns and Terry) seemed to truly understand the situation and the gravity of it."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com
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