Businessman Gleison Luís Menegildo, owner of the company Global Recuperadora de Caminhões, in São José do Rio Preto, was identified as the person responsible for burying the body of teenager Giovana Pereira Caetano de Almeida, 16 years old. Giovana’s body was found by the Military Police on a farm in the city of Nova Granada, in the interior of São Paulo, last Tuesday (27/8).
In addition to Gleison, the caretaker Cleber Danilo Partezani was also arrested, both accused of concealing a corpse and illegal possession of a firearm. After paying bail — R$15,000 for the businessman and the equivalent of five minimum wages for the caretaker — the two were released by the courts.
Giovana disappeared on December 21, 2023, after she met with Gleison at his company. During questioning, the businessman stated that, upon realizing the young woman’s death, he panicked, attributing the decision to bury the body to the fact that he was under the influence of cocaine at the time.
Gleison claimed that he took this desperate action out of fear of the consequences, but said he felt “relief” at facing the legal implications of his actions.
According to Gleison’s reports to the Civil Police, he and Giovana met through the Tinder app. He stated that, after this initial contact, they met in person on August 23, when they went to a motel in Mirassol and had sexual relations.
On that day, Gleison transferred money via Pix to Giovana, claiming that the amount was for “sexual favors.” In his testimony, the businessman also mentioned that Giovana used a fake identity to appear to be of legal age, although she was only 16 at the time.
Months after this meeting, Giovana allegedly contacted Gleison again, this time via WhatsApp, looking for a job at his company.
According to the businessman, although he had noticed that the young woman was displaying behaviors that he considered “problematic,” he asked her to submit a resume. On December 21, Giovana went to the company and, during a conversation, Gleison offered her a job, as long as she called her mother, allowing him to talk to her about hiring her.
Giovana refused the proposal, claiming that she had broken off relations with her mother two months earlier, information that the young woman’s mother, Patrícia Alessandra Pereira, denied in an interview, stating that her daughter had never left the family.
During the meeting at the company, Gleison reported that Giovana smoked marijuana and inhaled cocaine that was in a bottle he left in the room.
When he returned to the place, he noticed that Giovana was feeling unwell, with purple lips and nails, appearing to have overdosed. He and an employee tried to revive her, but found that she had died. Overcome with despair, Gleison, with the help of the caretaker Cleber, decided to bury the body on the farm, claiming that he was in a panic and did not know what to do in the situation.
Gleison’s defense maintains that Giovana died due to an overdose and denies any direct involvement of the businessman or his employees in the young woman’s death. On the other hand, Giovana’s mother rejects this version and accuses Gleison of being responsible for her daughter’s death, denying that she used drugs.
The case is currently under investigation by the Women’s Defense Department of São José do Rio Preto. Authorities are awaiting the results of the expert reports and examinations carried out by the Legal Medical Institute (IML) to advance the investigation and clarify the exact circumstances that led to Giovana’s death.
