Does Brazilian Justice Lead the Way? *Updated*

Brazilian Mohamed D'Ali Carvalho Santos (above left) was living in London (another great decision by the UK Border Agency) when he met and ingratiated himself with young Cara Burke (above right).

They were not a couple, but he invited her back to Brazil when he left. For some reason, she accepted, and almost a year after they met in London she went for an extended stay in the city of Goiania.

Mohamed had been smoking crack cocaine for four days solid when the British teenager, then 17, threatened to tell his mother he was spending all of his cash on hard drugs unless he gave her some money. At this point, he was taking up to 40 grams of cocaine a day, and even sniffing cooking gas to get high.

Some news reports suggest that the real reason he killed her is because she refused to marry him - simply so he could obtain a British passport.

In response, he attacked her with a knife. She tried to grab at the blade and fight him off, but he stabbed her to death in a brutal attack. In his own words:

'I don't remember where I stabbed,' Santos said. 'I kept on stabbing away, not knowing where, and when I saw what I had done, she was dead.'

After she died, he had a bath, put her body in the bathtub when he had finished - then went to an all night party.

At some point he also text his brother with pictures of Burke's body:

Police found a text message in Santos' cell phone saying "the bitch is in the bag." The message was written in English, accompanied by a smiley face, police said. The cell phone also contained photos of Burke's severed head and torso.

On the way home in the morning he went to a supermarket and bought a larger knife so that he could cut up Miss Burke's body. He then proceeded to sever her limbs and head, which he put in a suitcase, and put her torso in another. These were then dumped on two different river banks in the city.

So what does such a crime get you in Brazil?

Judge Jessair Coelho de Alcantara sentenced Mohamed to 19 years for the murder and 2 years for handling the body. Although those are ostensibly prison terms, if he is very good inside he will be eligible for something called 'part time custody' after just 8 years - enabling him to sleep at home some nights or go to work.

Stranger still, some in the Mail comment thread on this article are calling that arrangement 'justice'.