A macabre scene unfolded in a bank in Brazil when a woman reportedly wheeled in a corpse.
The body was of an elderly man who the woman, identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, tried to get to co-sign a loan.
Nunes was captured on video standing next to the wheelchair in which the deceased person was sitting.
She seemed to be holding up his head, which was drooping.
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The footage was aired by Brazilian broadcaster TV Globo, and showed Nunes speaking to the deceased and calling him her 'uncle'.
She also asked him to sign financial documents, which would enable her to take out a loan of $3,400, around 17,000 Brazilian Reais, according to O Globo.
Nunes could be heard to say: “Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, because I can’t sign for you.”
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She added: “Sign so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore.”
When staff questioned what was going on, she reportedly attempted to explain the man's lack of movement and responsiveness.
She said: “He is like that. He doesn’t say anything. Uncle, do you want to go to the [hospital] again?”
A report from O Globo identified the man as 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga.
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Horrified staff at the bank called the police, who arrested Nunes.
Authorities have now opened an investigation, and are also looking into the nature of the loan that Nunes had attempted to take out at the bank.
After Nunes' arrest, it was determined that Braga had been dead for several hours at the time of the incident.
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Police Chief Fábio Luiz told TV Globo: “She tried to pretend to get him to sign the loan. He already entered the bank dead.
“The main thing is to continue the investigation to identify other family members, and find out more about this loan.”
However, an attorney representing Nunes claimed that Braga was still alive at the time.
Ana Carla de Souza Correa is an attorney for Nunes, and told O Globo: "The facts did not happen how they are narrated. Paulo arrived at the bank alive.
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"Testimonies exist which will be heard at the opportune moment. He began to feel sick after he had all these procedures. All of this will be clarified.
"We believe in the innocence of Senhora Érika."
Nunes may face charges of fraud or embezzlement, as well as abuse of a corpse.
Kit Roberts