Three charged in Brazil with murder of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

Their disappearance generated intense international outcry and pressure for action and, with the help of local Indigenous people, authorities located their bodies hidden in the forest.

According to the prosecutors, all three are local people and their motive was that Pereira asked Phillips to photograph them when they passed by in a boat. The area is a hotspot for illegal fishing and poaching.

Pereira had had previous confrontations with fishermen when seizing their catch and had received a number of threats. He carried a gun with him, and had left the federal Indigenous affairs agency in order to teach local Indigenous people how to patrol their land and gather geo-tagged photographic evidence of criminality.

There has been speculationthat their murder may have been ordered by the ringleader of an illegal fishing network. Police earlier this month arrested a fourth man when he presented false documents, believing he may have some involvement, but no charges have yet been filed.