Otavio da Silva Referee Beheaded
Luis Moraes Souza was arrested for the stoning, beheading, and quartering of soccer referee Otavio da Silva (pictured) in Brazil, after the latter stabbed Josenir dos Santos Abreu to death. Courtesy IBTimes.Co.UK

Police in Maranhao, Brazil, have released the name of a 27-year-old man arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of a referee at an amateur soccer match there on Sunday.

Luis Moraes Souza, 27, was arrested last weekend in connection with the brutal killing of Otavio Jordao da Silva, the 20-year-old referee of the match, the Washington Post reports. Souza is suspected of being part of an “angry mob” that stoned Silva to death, quartered him and placed his head on a stake.

The barbaric attack took place after a violent altercation between Silva and Josenir dos Santos Abreu, a 30-year-old Brazilian soccer player. According to a statement released by the Public Safety Department of the state of Maranhao, the incident began when Silva ejected Abreu from the soccer match after an argument over one of the referee’s calls.

Abreu reportedly threw a punch at Silva, prompting the 20-year-old to pull out a knife and stab him. Abreu would later die of the fatal stab wound on his way to the hospital, the Washington Post reports.

Meanwhile, the fatal stabbing drove Abreu’s spectating friends and family to form an “angry mob.” According to the Public Safety Department’s statement, the mob reportedly “rushed into the field, stoned the referee to death and quartered [dismembered] his body.” Fox Soccer also notes that local media outlets are reporting that the mob decapitated Silva and stuck his severed head on a stake in the middle of the field.

Souza is believed to be one of three men who participated in the attack on Silva, Deadspin reports. Maranhao police are still actively searching for the other two suspects. In a statement, Valter Costa, chief of police in Maranhao’s town of Santa Ines, said that witness testimony has been a crucial part of the investigation.

“Reports of witnesses have indicated some people who were in place at the time of the fact," he said. "We will identify and hold accountable all those involved. [One] crime will never justify another. Actions like this do not collaborate [sic] with the legality of a state law.”

Footage of the alleged attack on the Brazilian soccer referee can be viewed here. [Warning: The video is extremely graphic.]

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