A brutal crime shocked the city of Maceió on the night of Monday, July 6, 2026. The body of Peterson Ykaro Gomes Cardoso, just 6 years old, was found in an overgrown vacant lot on José Moura Rocha Avenue, in the Cidade Universitária neighborhood, in the upper part of the Alagoas capital.

The primary line of investigation indicates that the child was a victim of sexual abuse before being murdered. The Civil Police are working on the hypothesis that Peterson died of asphyxiation, although the exact cause of death still awaits the report from the Medical Examiner's Office (IML).

The main suspect in the crime is the victim's great-uncle, 46-year-old Emanuel Vicente. According to the Military Police, the child's parents are divorced. Peterson had spent the weekend with his father, Edílson Cupertino Cardoso, a military reservist. On Monday (the 6th), when attempting to return his son to the mother, Érika Santos Gomes da Silva, the father did not find her at home, as she was still at work. Consequently, he decided to leave the child in the care of his maternal great-aunts and great-uncle.

Upon arriving home, the mother did not find her son and was unable to contact the relatives. Family members began searching, and witnesses reported seeing Peterson walking hand-in-hand with a man toward the vacant lot. The body was discovered by a family member around 9:30 PM.

Security camera footage captured the moment Emanuel Vicente walked with the boy through the vacant lot where the victim was found dead hours later. In the video, Emanuel walks ahead while Peterson runs to catch up. At one point, the child falls but gets back up and continues following his great-uncle. Minutes later, the suspect is seen returning alone, wearing a cap and a backpack, and carrying two yellow bags.

Emanuel's cell phone was found next to the child's body and was seized for forensic analysis. Emanuel Vicente was arrested on the morning of last Tuesday, July 7, in the municipality of Rio Largo, in the Maceió Metropolitan Area. During questioning, he denied the crime and stated that he did not remember the incident.

The Civil Police, through the Homicide and Person Protection Division (DHPP), continue to investigate the case to clarify all the circumstances surrounding Peterson Ykaro's death.