São Paulo judge found dead in burned vehicle to be buried Friday

Judge Gustavo de Castro Campos will be buried on Friday after being found dead in a burned vehicle. Police are investigating his death as suspicious.

The São Paulo state judges’ association said a wake at Velório da Paz in São João da Boa Vista would continue until 6 a.m. on October 9. Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Gethsêmani do Morumbi cemetery in the southern part of the state capital.

Campos was 45. He was born in Mogi das Cruzes, studied law at Centro Universitário Braz Cubas and entered public service in 2014. After working in Barretos and Tambaú, he became the judge of the second court in the Mococa district.

He was found in a vehicle on fire on a rural road in São João da Boa Vista on the evening of October 7. A police report cited by CNN Brasil said the body was in the driver’s seat. An initial examination found no apparent gunshot or stab wounds. A container with a strong smell of gasoline was found near the pedals.

Civil Police requested forensic examinations, are reviewing camera footage and interviewing witnesses. The state Public Security Secretariat confirmed that the case was registered as a suspicious death, the discovery of a body and the finding of a vehicle. The cause of death has not been established.

The São Paulo state court expressed condolences to the family and recognized Campos’s contributions to the judiciary.