Brazilian footballer tried for ex-lover's murder

Rio De Janeiro - Brazilian football star Bruno Fernandes de Souza has gone on trial killing of his former lover, Eliza Samudio. Her body has never been found.

According to police, Samuido, 25, who disappeared i in June 2010, was "strangled and then fed to dogs." Fernandes, 25, is a former goalkeeper for Flamengo, Brazils most popular football club, is on trial along with Luiz Henrique Ferreira Romao and former policeman Marcos Aparacido dos Santos, BBC News reports. "An idol like Bruno has turned out to be a monster," detective Edson Moreira said, the Daily Record reports. The goalkeeper was being considered to play for Brazil in the 2014 World Cup. His motive for killing his mistress was to save his reputation. Eliza Samudio claimed that she gave birth to Bruno's love child. The soccer's star ex-wife Dayanne Rodriguez as well as ex-lover Fernanda Gomes de Castro are facing charges of "abduction and false imprisonment," BBC News reports. In 2010, Fernandes' cousin confessed to police that Eliza was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. He told police that her body was fed to dogs. He took officers to the spot where he said the murder took place, but the body was not found there, and is still missing. Detective Edson Moreira has said that witnesses will testify that Bruno Fernandes de Souza turned Eliza Samudio into "a human sacrifice merely to try to protect his reputation," the Daily Record reports. After Samudio's gruesome murder, her baby was found in the home of friends of the football star's ex wife, Dayanne Rodgrigues, BBC News reports. All the defendants have denied the charges that have been brought against them. When Eliza Samudio was four months pregnant, Bruno Fernandes de Souza forced her to swallow an illegal abortion drug, the Daily Record reports. His contract with Rio Flamengo was terminated after he was convicted of this crime. About a month after the murder, the once popular footballer expressed disappointment that allegations against him could quite possibly damage his chances of playing for Brazil in the 2012 World Cup, BBC News reports. In 2011, "Bloodline," an E60 ESPN documentary about the shocking murder aired. The case has shocked Brazilians in the way the OJ Simpson murder trial shocked Americans. Bruno Fernandes de Souza has maintained his innocence since being arrested for Eliza's murder and has claimed he has a "clear conscience," The Daily Mail reports.