Cabo Bruno

Florisvaldo de Oliveira, known as Cabo Bruno, was a Brazilian military police officer born in 1958 in the state of São Paulo. He is remembered above all for the killings he carried out as an unofficial vigilante in the Pedreira neighbourhood during the 1980s, but during his long imprisonment he also took up painting, a less familiar side of his story.

He was arrested in September 1982, charged with murder, and the number of victims attributed to him eventually rose to 50. After twelve trials he was sentenced to 112 years in prison, and he made four escape attempts. While incarcerated he produced paintings, and in 1988 some of them were shown in an exhibition in São Paulo. The sources consulted do not describe his style or subject matter, so little more can be said about his artistic work.

He converted to evangelical Christianity in 2008 and worked as a pastor. He was released in August 2012 and was killed a month later in Pindamonhangaba. Police suspect the murder was revenge, but the case remains unsolved.