Three bungee workers formally charged with girl’s death, as their bizarre defence becomes clear

Three bungee instructors have been formally charged with the death of a 21-year-old after she jumped from a bungee jumping bridge without the safety rope attached.

Over the weekend in São Paulo, Brazil, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas attended a bungee jumping experience that went horribly wrong. The safety cord was not attached, and she ultimately fell 131 feet into the canyon below. Though she was initially alive, a nurse said, Maria’s death was later confirmed at the scene.

She was buried in a ceremony over the weekend, with her mum writing on Instagram: “That damn rope took you away from me forever. My beloved daughter, you are gone and all that remains here is pain and longing. I love you forever.”

Credit: Instagram

Now, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, have been formally charged with homicide with eventual intent after being arrested on Sunday. Under Brazilian law, this charge is applied to cases where there was no intention to kill, but the dangerous act itself resulted in death.

The bungee instructors were picked up “in flagrante”, NBC reported, which means attempting to flee.

The bungee instructors were interrogated before being charged

After being arrested on Sunday, the bungee instructors were grilled on the events that led to the death of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas.

According to local media outlets such as G1 and EPTV, the three men had a simple response to the interrogation: They couldn’t remember what happened.

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“Either it’s me or [Mr Cintra] who does it,” Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff said. “So I went ahead first, and after that it’s all erased from my mind … I don’t remember.”

Credit: Google Maps

In fact, Maicon Fernandes Cintra said it only became clear when other people on the bridge reacted, explaining: “The reaction … the reaction of the people and even then … I haven’t seen the footage, but I think from that moment on my expression, my reaction at the time was one of disbelief and not understanding what had happened.”

Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff had a similar story, saying he “didn’t see” anyone warning the instructors before Maria jumped.

“There was a huge crowd, a lot of people talking, sometimes people go to the jump and start shouting. Like, I didn’t see anything. I saw someone with a video talking about the rope, but like, no, it didn’t go past, I didn’t see it,” he explained.

The case is ongoing.

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Featured image credit: Twitter/Google Maps