Former mayor of Campo Grande dies, arrested on suspicion of killing a server in MS

Bernal died at 0:35 am at Santa Casa Hospital in the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul. The information was confirmed to UOL by the institution itself this morning.

The cause of death has not yet been released. The man had been imprisoned for more than three months in the military prison and the Military Police were approached to comment on the case, but have not yet commented.

Bernal shot Mazzini and then handed himself in to the police in March. The crime took place in a residence on Rua Antônio Maria Coelho, in the Jardim dos Estados neighborhood, in Campo Grande.

The victim, who was a state tax auditor, was hit by two shots. She received first aid from the Fire Department, but was pronounced dead at the crime scene after 25 minutes of resuscitation attempts.

The incident occurred after a dispute over property. Mazzini was accompanied by a locksmith and went to the property to take possession of it on the day of his murder. He would have bought the former mayor's house at an auction, according to preliminary information from the Civil Police.

The victim had an extrajudicial notice to vacate when he went to the property. The document was seized by the police, who inspected the scene of the crime and stated, in a statement, that they "will present the results at the end of the investigations."

Former mayor was arrested for qualified homicide. Defense claimed that he acted in self-defense after the property was invaded. "He was alerted by the security company and went to the residence because the door was being broken into. Self-defense is the strongest argument," said lawyer Wilton Acosta, upon leaving the police station.

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