If you were a media professional, you would fight to ensure your show gets high ratings, either positively by focusing on the quality of the content presented or negatively by discussing controversial topics or by reacting in unusual ways, some of which may be beyond the bounds of decency. But can these actions go so far as to break the law and commit murder to boost ratings? The answer comes from Brazil, where in 2009, a prominent TV host was arrested and accused of inciting murders to cover them exclusively on his show and attract more viewers.
As smoke was still rising from a charred body in one of Brazil’s most dangerous cities, a broadcaster and his crew arrived at the scene and began providing gruesome details of the crime live on air, saying that the man had been burned alive after gasoline was poured on him and ignited. What was strange was that he described details that were difficult to know just by looking at the charred body and would require thorough examination by experts.
This detailed account raised suspicions among Brazilian police, who began investigating how a prominent broadcaster like Wallace Souza could know such details. Eventually, they found evidence that the broadcaster had been planning murders across the city of Manaus, on the banks of the Amazon River, to cover them on his program on Canal Livre and boost viewership. His show was a strange mix of humor and horrific crimes, where Souza and his team would track murders across the city, often arriving at the crime scene with the police and broadcasting brutal footage of the victims, sometimes even participating in police raids.
The show was incredibly popular, becoming the most-watched in Manaus, and it aired for 30 years, from 1989 until its cancellation in 2009. The program helped Souza gain enough fame to win public office three times as a state legislator, known as the man who bravely and relentlessly stood up to murderers, kidnappers, and smugglers, regardless of the personal risks.
Police suspicions about Souza grew after a former police officer named Moa Jorge confessed after being arrested and accused of killing nine people, claiming he had been hired by Wallace Souza and his son to incite these brutal murders for the show. To lend credibility to his confession, he mentioned a shocking clip on Canal Livre regarding the charred body, where Souza had described it in detail, stating that the son, Rafael, was responsible for it on his father’s orders. Due to the gravity of these confessions, a search warrant was issued for the home of the prominent broadcaster, where he lived with his son Rafael. During the search, $200,000 in cash, a gun, and various ammunition were found in Rafael’s room, believed to have been used in killings across the city. Additionally, they found pieces of paper with the names of drug dealers, some of whom had already been killed, which seemed like a hit list.
Naturally, Rafael was arrested and charged with murder and drug trafficking. As for Wallace Souza, he denied ever meeting Jorge or being involved in any crimes, but despite his denials, there was significant evidence against him, including photographs of him with Jorge. As a result of these accusations and documented evidence, he was removed from office in October 2009 and charged with murder, drug trafficking, witness intimidation, illegal possession of weapons, and forming a criminal gang. An arrest warrant was issued for him, but he disappeared, prompting the police to search for him. He soon reappeared and turned himself in, still maintaining his innocence.
Souza was held in the high-security Compaj prison but died of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 51, before standing trial. As for his son Rafael, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, served five years for murder, and was then released. The former police officer Jorge was arrested and imprisoned, but in 2017, he was shot and burned alive in his cell during a riot at Compaj prison, which resulted in the deaths of 56 inmates.
To this day, controversy remains over whether Wallace Souza was truly guilty of these crimes or innocent. While his son Rafael and his supporters insist the accusations were baseless, the police claim they are absolutely certain of their charges and investigations, leaving the matter unresolved, especially after Jorge, the only witness, died.
