By Hadassa Ferreira, Arts & Culture Editor
As October arrives, so too does the season for revisiting horror and true-crime tales that confront the realities of death. In recent centuries, much of the western world has celebrated Halloween on Oct. 31 with horror movies, eerie decorations, and spooky stories.
While there are many horror stories to entertain people on this day, it’s also a time to remember true crime cases that are as shocking and thrilling as any fictional tale. One of the most infamous true crime cases, the von Richthofen case, actually took place in Brazil on the night of Oct. 31, 2002.
This case involved 18-year-old Suzane von Richthofen, who, along with her boyfriend and his brother, brutally killed both of her parents in São Paulo. The crime was planned by Suzane and carried out by the Cravinho brothers, including her boyfriend of three years, Daniel Cravinho.
“This case astounds me because it’s just so complex,” said Zaray Herrera, a Saint Leo University nursing alumna.
The von Richthofen family was a wealthy, German-Brazilian family: parents Manfred and Marísia von Richthofen and their two children, Suzane and Andreas. The family lived in an upper-class neighborhood of the metropole in a mansion, which became the scene of the crime.
The relationship between Suzane and her parents had always been distant–beyond her parent’s marriage being a very troubled one, her father was a very strict man who had never shown much affection toward his children.
Suzane met Daniel Cravinho in 1999 when he was teaching aeromodelling to her brother, Andreas. Daniel Cravinho was the son of a civil servant and a housewife and came from a middle-class family. Therefore, Suzane’s parents did not approve of their relationship.
After years of accumulated disagreements with her parents, Suzane planned the death of her parents and enlisted both Daniel and his brother, who saw it as an opportunity to gain wealth, to execute the crime.
On the night of Oct. 31, 2002, the plan was to enter the von Richthofen mansion while Suzane’s parents, Manfred and Marísia, slept. She and the Cravinho brothers then entered the mansion and carried out the murder.
To cover up the crime, Suzane and the Cravinho brothers staged the scene to look like a burglary, intending to act as though they had nothing to do with it. Hours after the crime was committed, Daniel called the police, reporting an intrusion at the von Richthofen residence.
However, what Suzane did not count on was the amateur nature of the crime, where multiple pieces of evidence were left behind, which quickly implicated them. Investigators immediately found inconsistencies in their story, and evidence at the crime scene began pointing to Suzane and the Cravinho brothers as the primary suspects.
Within days of investigation, authorities had pieced together the plot, and by Nov. 8, 2002, Suzane and the brothers had confessed.
All three received prison sentences; Suzane and Daniel both received the biggest penalty of 39 years and six months, while Christian received 38 years and six months in jail.
Daniel Cravinho had always showed repentance over the heinous crime he committed, while Suzane never showed any signals of remorse. After years in jail and several psychiatric exams, Suzane was diagnosed with sociopathy.
Herrera also added, “There is this girl that claims her boyfriend killed her parents, yet her boyfriend claims that she convinced him to do so. There’s so much to uncover to understand how this tragedy came to be.”
True crime often captivates audiences because they are a combination of mystery, psychology, and moral ambiguity. At the same time, these stories allow spectators to delve deeper into the darker aspects of human nature and the complexities of criminal behavior. This fascination is likely why the von Richthofen case became, and remains, so widely discussed.
