A Psychopath Test Leads to Murder
Raissa Nunes Borges and Her Friends Created a Deadly Personality Assessment
Raissa Nunes Borges (far right) with Matos and Rodrigues, courtesy of Divulgacio/PCGO
Nineteen year old Raissa Nunes Borges had a problem. She thought she was a psychopath, but how could she know for sure? “I know,” she thought. “I’ll kill someone and see how I feel afterward.”
“Will I be able to do it? And, if so, how will I feel? Shocked? Proud? Nothing?”
So, she talked to her two friends, twenty-two-year-old Jefferson Calvalcante Rodrigues, and eighteen-year-old Enzo (a.k.a. Freya) Jacomini Carneiro Matos. She told them she needed to take a psychopathy test, one that involved murder. And she needed their help
Together, the three of them came up with a short-list of potential victims. They chose eighteen-year-old, Ariane Barbara Laureano de Oliveira because of her small size; nothing personal, she just didn’t look like someone who could put up much of a fight.
It’s a Plan
We know how Ariane was lured to her death by the voicemail she left her mother. Shortly before she died on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, she called her mom and said she was going to lunch with three friends. [In addition to Matos and Rodrigues, an unnamed sixteen-year-old was also in the car]. They were going to pick her up, treat her to lunch, and drop her back off at home. But she never returned.
Ariane’s mother, thirty-five-year-old Eliane Laureano, started looking for her daughter as hours passed and she didn’t hear from her. The next day, already carrying fliers with her daughter’s picture on it, she tracked down Enzo Matos at a local skatepark. Ariane would go there sometimes to meet friends.
He said he had no idea where Ariane was. Eliane later said she was shocked at how indifferent he was to the news of Ariane’s disappearance. But she was much too upset at the time to consider what this might mean.
Ariane’s body was found seven days later after locals called police about a bad smell coming from nearby woods. It was August 31st. Eliane found out after police identified her body. Ironically, two of the first people to offer condolences were two of the people involved; the sixteen-year-old passenger and Enzo Matos.
The Confession
Thanks to Ariane’s voice message, the trio who had picked her up were immediate suspects. And it didn’t take long before the truth came out, including the tale of the psychopathy test.
Here are the nuts and bolts of the confession:
The night before the murder, Borges and her co-conspirators came up with the plan to lure Ariane with the promise of a free lunch. Ariane would be in the back seat with Borges, while the two other suspects would be in the front. They would drive around for a little while, listening to music as they typically did.
The attack signal would be when the driver played a pre-planned song about murder. At that point, one of the two front seat passengers would snap their fingers, and Borges would begin her attack.
The initial plan was for Borges to strangle Ariane while the rest of the crew watched. However, it didn’t work out that way. Borges apparently underestimated Ariane’s strength, will to live or both. When it was clear that Borges was losing the struggle, her friends jumped in to help. An autopsy later revealed that she had been stabbed at least three times in addition to being strangled.
No one who has spoken to the media to date has indicated they noticed the perpetrators acting any differently after the murder. Just a few hours afterwards, the three went to a shopping mall. They still had dried blood on their clothes. They continued their daily social media posts. And, as previously mentioned, hours after the discovery of Ariane’s body, two of them were sending sympathetic messages to her mother.
A Psychological Perspective Based on What We Know
Like our case last week, this is a relatively new crime. There’s still a lot we don’t’ know. I have not met with any of the alleged perpetrators. Still, there are some undisputed psychological issues that beg at least some discussion.
The obvious one is Raissa Nunes Borges alleged motive; that she designed the murder to test whether or not she was a psychopath. I am sure that many of you, like me, are skeptical of this story. And have a ton of questions.
Why does she think she’s a psychopath? Most genuine psychopaths show disturbing behavior years before they are diagnosed, even as children. And youngsters who have psychopathic tendencies – such a lack of remorse, guilt or empathy – often go to great lengths to hide them. Psychopaths often get a great deal of pleasure – and power – hiding behind the mask they present to others. They aren’t sitting around talking about it.
On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for teenagers to identify with, and romanticize, anti-heroes, especially if they don’t fit in with the good guys. These are often kids who want to get away from emotional pain or some issue or problem. “It’s cool,” they think. And how wonderful not to have to deal with pesky emotions like empathy or remorse!
Also, at an age when figuring out who you are is important, giving yourself a label can simplify things. You can look for role models. You can do the things that psychopaths do. But if Raissa really wanted an accurate diagnosis, there are plenty of mental health professionals available to give her one.
I’m not saying Raissa’s behavior is normal. Murdering someone in cold blood is not. It certainly proves she is dangerous – and disturbed.
But it doesn’t prove she’s a psychopath. Most psychopaths don’t kill and most killers aren’t psychopaths. And whether she’s a psychopath or not won’t matter much in terms of a legal defense.
And what about her friends, who didn’t consider themselves psychopaths but still went along with her plan? Their motive is a mystery. But in one of the social media posts after the murder, Rodrigues says he “can’t resist the charm of psychological disorders and problems.” Some time behind bars will likely cure that.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this senseless tragedy. Thanks for reading.