A YouTuber has taken his life amid an investigation into images of child abuse in Brazil.
Paulo Cezar Goulart Siqueira, known as PC Siqueira to his two million subscribers, died on Wednesday afternoon, December 27, at the age of 37.
It is believed that the social media performer was found dead by his ex-girlfriend, Maria Watanabe, in his Sao Paulo apartment.
According to local media reports, the distressed ex-partner begged for neighbours to help her as they called the police.
Coroners have recorded his death as a suicide and it came just two days after he posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.
His death comes as the internet star, known for social media content, presenting work, and comic book colouring, was facing an investigation for child pornography after the alleged leak of private messages in 2020.
Brazil’s Public Security Secretariat had previously confirmed on December, 6: ‘The case continues to be investigated by the 4th Pedophilia Repression Police Station of the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP).
‘Details about the progress of the investigation will be preserved, due to the secrecy decreed by the Court.’
PC Siqueira denied the accusation, according to local media.
According to local media, Siqueira was accused of sharing sick photos of a six-year-old child on June 10, 2020.
It is believed that an anonymous X account released phone screen recordings where he could supposedly be seen talking to a friend about what was alleged.
He reportedly deactivated his YouTube channel after providing a statement to police, Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported.
On June 10, 2022 a Twitter profile published an exchange of messages allegedly involving PC Siqueira.
In the conversation, he reports that he received images of a naked child.
After the prints were released, PC Siqueira took to social media to state that it was not true, according to local reports.
‘I was taken by surprise when I saw my name being used by a criminal organization, which tried to accuse me of something terrible, which I never committed or would commit’, wrote PC Siqueria.
Then, the alleged YouTube reportedly released audios stating that he ‘must have a trace’ of pedophilia were shared on the internet.
‘It’s very bizarre, because, before yesterday, I was accused of racism. Now, I’m going to be the pedophile, because… Yeah, I kind of have a trace of that, because I looked at a girl’s ass and, in amidst the situation, the virtual sex, that made me arroused’, reports Globo.
After the audio was released by journalist Erlan Bastos, PC deleted the message from Instagram, but the statement remained on the YouTuber’s Facebook page in 2020.
Cauê Moura and Rafinha Bastos, who participated in the Ilha dos Barbados channel with PC Siqueira, announced the cancellation of the project.
They said: ‘we are perplexed and disappointed’.
On June 15, 2020 PC made a post in his Instagram stories in which he quotes an excerpt from the song ‘You Want It Darker’, by Leonard Cohen. ‘You want darker, we kill the flame’ (You want more darkness, we put out the flame).
In 2021, the Superintendence of the Technical-Scientific Police of the Public Security Secretariat of Sao Paulo reportedly said it found no evidence to incriminate him for paedophilia.
It gathered that the investigation was under judicial secrecy before he took his own life.
