Missing Autistic Boy, 13, Found Dead at Marília Sewage Plant

Overview

• João Raspante Neto, whose body was found Tuesday in a lagoon at Marília’s Barbosa wastewater treatment plant, was located about 870 meters from his family’s small rural property.
• Teams recovered his clothes and a phone nearby, and a volunteer’s find of a sandal helped steer searchers to the spot.
• Police forensic staff reported no signs of violence and are investigating how he entered the restricted area, with the autopsy pending to confirm the cause.
• Civil Defense says slide marks on the lagoon’s plastic liner point to a slip on the steep slope that likely led to drowning.
• Marília declared a day of mourning and the boy was buried Tuesday at Cemitério da Saudade, underscoring how the case gripped the city and drew more than a thousand volunteers.