The mum of a woman who was found buried in a neighbour's garden reveals the chilling moment that she could have saved her life
Thuane da Silva Machado's mum sent her out to buy vegetables in southern Brazil on Monday (May 2), but she never returned home.
Panicked mum Simone tried searching for her 20-year-old daughter in the streets and asked her neighbours for help as well, reported the Sun.
In a haunting memory, Simone said she actually remembers hearing a girl scream - but didn't realise it was her daughter until a long time afterwards.
"When I passed by with a neighbour, I heard someone shouting 'mum, help!'" she said.
"I went home. Half an hour later, the penny dropped."
Simone then went to her neighbour's home and asked him to let her in, explaining she was looking for her daughter.
The man had pornography playing on his TV, but Simone didn't find anything at the flat.
He later drove off from the scene on a motorbike.
The desperate mum said: "The police arrived, they sealed it off.
"After night fell, I don't know how, they found her buried outside his door."
There were signs of sexual assault on Thuane's body when she was found.
She was later sent to a morgue in Duque de Caxias.
Thuane, who like her mum was a churchgoer, was "perfect" and "a family girl" according to her mum.
She explained how her daughter didn't even really go out, preferring to spend her time "on her mobile phone" and she was "a calm girl".
Police are still searching for the suspect and a crime scene remains in place at the property as officers investigate.
A photo of the suspect has been released as police urge the public to come forwards with information - but his name has not be shared.
