Suzane Von Richthofen: The Teen Queen of Love and Betrayal
On October 31, 2002, a wealthy family in São Paulo was found dead in what initially appeared to be a brutal robbery. Manfred and Marísia Von Richthofen were discovered in their home with clear signs of violence. The couple’s eldest daughter, Suzane, who was 18 at the time, told the police that she had found the bodies upon returning home with her younger brother.
Within hours, investigators began to consider the possibility of a botched robbery. The young woman’s version seemed to fit what had happened. However, there was something about her behavior that didn’t quite add up. Her account lacked the expected despair, and the timeline she described didn’t quite match.
The police, growing increasingly suspicious, intensified their investigation. What they uncovered in the following days would take a chilling turn: the daughter was not only not a victim but the mastermind behind the crime.
### Love, rebellion, and a macabre plan
Suzane belonged to a wealthy and respected family, living an apparently idyllic life. Her father was an engineer and senior executive at IBM, while her mother worked as a psychiatrist. The young woman had everything to lead a comfortable and uneventful life until she met Daniel Cravinhos.
Daniel was a young man of humble origins, a motorcycle enthusiast, and without higher education. Despite the differences, Suzane fell deeply in love and started a relationship with him. Initially, the parents accepted the courtship, but over time they began to suspect that the young man had a negative influence on their daughter. When they discovered that both were using drugs and that Suzane had failed to enter university, they decided to end the relationship.
This prohibition only fueled the young woman’s obsession, and for two years, she kept secret meetings with Daniel. Over time, they began to devise a plan to get rid of the obstacle preventing them from being together: Suzane’s parents. Money, along with love, also seemed to play a significant role in the decision.
### A night of horror in São Paulo
The meticulously planned crime was executed by the couple and Cristian Cravinhos, Daniel’s brother. On the night of October 31, they took Andreas, Suzane’s younger brother, to a cyber café to ensure he wouldn’t witness what was about to happen.
When they returned to the family home, Suzane discreetly went up to check that her parents were asleep. She then signaled the Cravinhos brothers to carry out the crime. Armed with an iron bar, they brutally beat Manfred to death. Marísia, on the other hand, survived a few more minutes. In a desperate attempt to save her children, she uttered her last words: “Don’t hurt my children.” Shortly after, Cristian suffocated her with a towel, causing her death.
After the murder, Suzane accessed the family safe and took cash in various currencies and jewelry. Part of it was given to Cristian as payment, while the rest was kept to start a new life with Daniel.
After hiding for a few hours in a hotel, the young woman returned home with her younger brother and pretended not to know anything. At four in the morning, Daniel called the police pretending to be surprised by what had happened.
### A downward spiral: from victim to author of the crime
Gradually, the inconsistencies in Suzane’s account were unraveled. The crime scene showed no signs of external violence, and the alarm had been deactivated from the inside. The police interrogated the Cravinhos brothers, and eventually, one of them broke down and confessed the truth.
Suzane’s image, who had cried in front of the cameras as a devastated daughter, changed drastically: she was now seen as the cold and calculating mind behind the murder of her own parents for money and rebellion.
During the trial, the prosecutor was unequivocal in describing her as manipulative and remorseless. Although her defense tried to justify her actions by referring to an oppressive family environment and her parents’ excessive control, the testimony of the Cravinhos brothers, who claimed that she led the plan, sealed her fate.
In 2006, the court sentenced her to 39 years in prison, the same penalty received by Daniel and Cristian. The case divided public opinion in Brazil: was Suzane a victim of an authoritarian environment or the embodiment of evil?
During her years of imprisonment at the Tremembé prison, Suzane shared a cell with other women convicted of serious crimes. She used her time to study, earn a degree in administration, marry another inmate, and work in the prison library.
In 2023, after serving more than 20 years of her sentence, she was granted parole. Today she lives away from the media spotlight, but her story continues to spark debate and fascination in Brazil and beyond its borders.
