Pastor Arrested for Murdering 13-Year-Old Girl

A 54-year-old pastor, João das Graças Pachola, has been arrested for the suspected murder of 13-year-old Stefany Vitória Teixeira Ferreira, who was found dead.  

Stefany was reported missing after leaving her home to visit a friend. When she didn’t return, her family reported her disappearance to the police and began distributing flyers to aid the search.  

During the investigation, eyewitnesses came forward, saying they saw Stefany being forced into a car on the afternoon of February 8. When they confronted the man, he claimed she was his daughter and called her “crazy.” Fortunately, the witnesses took a photo of the car’s license plate, which helped police track him down.  

The police later contacted Pastor João’s wife, who said she had last seen him on February 9. As the search continued, authorities discovered he was hiding at his mother’s house in Contagem. On February 11, he was arrested and confessed to murdering Stefany.  

He led officers to a wooded area on the outskirts of Ribeirão das Neves, where he had left her body. Evidence of violence was found on her remains, and bloodstains were discovered in his car, which was parked in a neighbor’s garage.  

Local media reported that Pastor Pachola was well-known in the community, regularly visiting church members’ homes and holding Sunday services.  

A family friend, Kelly, expressed her shock over the situation, saying, “Up until then, we thought it was just a coincidence that the pastor and the girl went missing on the same day.”

She also revealed that the pastor worked as a driver, transporting local children to and from school.

Kelly added saying: “He took my four-year-old son to school for a year, he took my nephews, he took lots of kids around here.

“Who knows what he might have done to those children.”