Badpuppy Gay Today

Tuesday, 27 May 1997

In a tragedy fired by motives similar to those which gave rise to the post-Jenny Jones talk-show disaster, a one-time Brazilian soldier went berserk after being called "a homosexual."

His killing spree began late last Wednesday in Natal, a town 1,300 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro. The post-Jenny Jones Show incident differed principally from this Brazilian calamity in the number of persons killed, though motives, according to a letter left by the murderer, were nearly identical.

Brazilian police estimate that before the distraught assailant was gunned down, he had killed at least twelve people and, perhaps, the death toll may still rise to as many as twenty, according to Gustavo Mariano, a spokesperson for Rio Grande do Norte state.

The motive for the killings was found in a note left behind by the 27-year old gunman, Genildo Ferreira de Franca. He wrote:

"The reason I am writing these few lines is not to justify the wrong I have done, but it is only in this way that I can...challenge those who wanted to prove I was a homosexual."

No indication was given in the 3-page letter as to precisely who were those who had "challenged" de Franca's heterosexual credentials. He managed, however, to kill his ex-wife and her parents, after which he moved swiftly to shoot his current wife and her parents as well.

Arming himself with two pistols, de Franca donned a bullet-proof vest before going on his rampage. Initially it appeared that he had kidnapped a 16-year old girl, planning to use her as a shield against police assaults.

After de Franca was gunned down by police, the girl, Valderici Ribeiro da Silva, fell under police suspicion for having helped him kill several men who were lured into the woods. de Franca, reportedly, had used the young woman as bait.

The remainder of de Franca's victims were murdered at random Thursday morning as he strolled down a main street in Natal firing upon bypassers. He took hostages and forced them into a harrowing flight, with police in quick pursuit.The group were detained in a wooded area where de Franca shot it out with police.

At noon on Thursday de Franca was struck by police gunfire and killed. His hostages, in shock, were released unharmed.

"We expect to find more bodies," said Gustavo Mariano