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Why Was Pedro Rodrigues Filho Released?

Criminals are often sentenced according to the severity of their crimes, and we often hear life sentences for murderers. But we are also well aware of how the justice system can be flawed. But did you know that there was a serial killer who was released after serving less than a fourth of his original sentence?

Pedro Rodrigues Filho, the murderer of criminals, was sentenced to 126 years behind bars and an additional 400 years for killing inmates. He was released only after serving 34 years in prison due to a Brazilian Law.

Who is Pedro Rodrigues Filho?

Pedro Rodrigues Filho was born on July 17, 1954 in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, South of Minas Gerais. He was born with an injured skull due to his father kicking his mother’s belly in one of their fights. His childhood was riddled with violence, often suffering physical abuse from his father. (Source: Criminal Minds)

Filho claimed that his first urge to kill another person was when he was thirteen. He got into a fight and tried to murder his cousin. During the fight, Filho pushed him into a sugar cane press, but he survived.

By fourteen, Filho was successful in committing his first murder. He killed the vice-mayor of Alfenas with a shotgun. He was motivated to kill the vice-mayor because he fired his father from a job as a security guard in a high school kitchen. His father was accused of stealing food from the kitchen.

After a month, Filho claimed another life. It was another security guard where his father worked and was thought to steal food from the kitchen. Filho soon fled to Sao Paulo, where he began his career as a burglar in the local slums, killing a drug dealer in the process.

Filho soon met his fiance, Maria Aparecida Olympia. She was unfortunately murdered by gang members. Enraged, Filho and his friends committed a massacre during a wedding organized by the gang’s leader.

This was not the end of this spree. Months later, he discovered that his favorite cousin was impregnated by her boyfriend. He refused to marry her, which led to Filho shooting him dead. 

Filho found out his father was in prison for murdering and dismembering his mother with 21 machete blows. Consumed by anger, Filho visited his father with the intention of killing him. He stabbed his father 22 times, carved his heart out, and took a bite of it.

Murderous Career of Pedro Rodrigues Filho

Filho’s career as a killer soon took shape, but he usually kills career criminals and drug dealers. He stalks them before he moves in for the kill. He claimed that his favorite method of killing the criminals was stabbing or hacking them to death. He would sometimes torture them to death when his motivation towards the criminal was anger instead of the thrill of killing. (Source: Criminal Minds)

Filho was finally arrested on May 24, 1973, but his career as a serial killer didn’t end there. During his transport, he killed a rapist. He continued to kill inside the prison as well. Filho’s body count rose to 47 inmates. He often killed other criminals because the thrill of killing another criminal made him feel wonderful and oddly satisfied.

It was reported that the prison population hated Filho as he enjoyed killing criminals. In one instance, he was ambushed by five inmates, but he managed to kill three of them. Filho also killed his cellmate, who snored too much, and another one which he simply did not like seeing. 

Filho’s Release

In 2003, Filho was supposed to be released from prison, although he hasn’t finished serving his 126 years sentence. He was scheduled to be released because, according to Brazilian law, no criminal is supposed to spend more than 30 years in prison. (Source: People Pill)

His release request was turned down because of a 1934 decree signed by then-president Getúlio Vargas, which allowed psychopaths to be maintained indefinitely in psychiatric establishments for treatment and for his crimes committed in prison, which increased his sentence for almost 400 years.

He was eventually released on April 24, 2007, but was arrested and imprisoned in September 2011 due to riot and false imprisonment, with a sentence of 128 years. But in 2018, Filho was rereleased due to the same Brazilian law. Today he has a YouTube channel talking about his experiences. (Source: Criminal Minds)

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