A family faced heartbreak after adopting a supposed 12-year-old girl and forming a strong bond, only to discover after 14 months that the girl was actually a 37-year-old woman involved in multiple similar incidents. The couple had spent money on costly medications for the woman, who had claimed to suffer from obesity and health issues related to childhood trauma.
The woman, Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, reportedly targeted victims by fabricating stories of escaping abuse and mistreatment, manipulating sympathies to receive support. She utilized aliases, fake narratives of abuse, and childlike mannerisms to deceive families, churches, and social workers into providing assistance.
A volunteer in Rio de Janeiro recounted how Amanda, posing as a victim of abuse, contacted her seeking help. Amanda was eventually discovered in a town in Rio de Janeiro state, where she had been taken care of by an elderly woman. Authorities revealed that Amanda maintained the charade by feigning autism, using baby items, and exhibiting childlike behaviors.
Amanda’s deception was exposed when a volunteer noticed needles protruding from Amanda’s body, prompting medical examinations that revealed over 200 needles inside her. Subsequent X-ray images confirmed the presence of needles, leading to the revelation of Amanda’s true age and the extent of her deception.
Following her arrest, Amanda admitted to posing as a child in various cities, with reports linking her to similar incidents across Brazil. She had previously been detained in Rio de Janeiro and Goias for comparable allegations. Amanda was convicted of false identity offenses in Goias, and while a preventive detention was requested during a custody hearing, her defense team sought a psychiatric evaluation.
A judge granted the requests for preventive detention and a mental health assessment, ordering Amanda to remain in custody pending evaluation at Joinville Women’s Prison. The defense lawyer expressed that the psychiatric evaluation could shed light on the complexities of the case.
