Woman, 37, adopted by family had convinced them she was 12 and fled abuse

A 37-year-old woman has been accused of posing as a 12-year-old girl so she could be adopted by families has been apprehended by the authorities.

Have you ever watched the psychological thriller, Orphan?

This is reminiscent of that, except this lady wasn’t a murderous Russian girl – instead, she has been found to have been a deceitful Brazilian who told a series of lies to make unsuspecting couples believe she was an over two decades younger than she is.

After Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was caught in Joinville, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, on June 3 after the couple who was caring for her reported their suspicions to police, a judge ordered her to undergo a psychiatric examination.

Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was caught by police (Newsflash/NewsX)

Since then, Amanda has been linked to other crimes in at least seven other states.

According to investigators, the woman had been reportedly looked after by the couple as their adopted daughter for more than a year and had been told a string of excuses as to why Amanda looked to be so mature for her small age.

This includes using fake names, abuse stories, adopting the behaviors of a child, and claiming her birth mom forced her to take hormones which caused her to look much older.

Allegedly, all of this was to gain the trust of families, churches and social workers so they could financially care for her.

Police have said that Amanda has committed similar acts linked to the locations of Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Florianopolis, Chapeco and Nova Iguacu, then Minas Gerais, Goias and Ceara, her place of birth.

She was caught after suspicions were raised in Joinville (Getty Stock Images)

According to a volunteer in Rio de Janeiro, Amanda reached out via social media in 2023 and told her of the horrors she had been through at the hands of her biological parents.

She told local media: “She said her father had forced her into prostitution and that he was involved in witchcraft rituals. She claimed she escaped by hitchhiking.”

This sparked the woman to travel to Mage, in Rio de Janeiro state, with a friend to meet with Amanda, who had been staying with an elderly woman.

The lady explained that they had fundraised for Amanda to be taken to Nova Iguacu, as she explained: “We mobilized friends, rented a house and took care of her. She seemed like an obese autistic teenager and spoke like a child.”

According to the authorities, Amanda has pretended to be autistic, and suffer with other medical problems, as well as play into the role of a child by using pacifiers, sleeping with a comfort blanket, speaking with a soft voice and pretending to have night terrors.

Investigators said Amanda had reportedly done this routine at least seven times before moving in with the family in Joinville.

People thought she was an 'obese autistic teenager' (Newsflash/NewsX)

It was there that she reportedly was treated like their daughter for the year she was with them, and they even held a 12th birthday party after she moved into their home.

There, the family allegedly paid for Amanda to take Mounjaro after claims of suffering from obesity and health problems caused by abuse.

However, 14 months after caring for her, a relative became suspicious and searched online for similar cases.

Previously, Amanda had been detained after being caught out – with one instance finding she had over 200 needles in her body during an X-ray scan in 2024.

He said she had more than 200 needles in her body.”

Police in Goiania later released X-ray images allegedly showing dozens of needles inside Amanda’s body after another examination in 2024.

She was later convicted of false identity offences but had not served her sentence.

On June 3, prosecutors requested her detention.

However, a judge approved a psychiatric evaluation to coincide with this custody arrangement to help with getting a better understanding of the case.