Alexandre Alves Nardoni was born in Brazil and spent his formative years in São Paulo. During his teenage years, he began a relationship with Ana Carolina Cunha de Oliveira, a school classmate. The couple dated for about three years. In 2001, when Oliveira was just 17, she became pregnant with their daughter, Isabella. At that point, Alexandre was about to start studying law at a local college. Though they discussed living together to raise their child, their relationship was already strained, and ultimately, Oliveira decided to remain in her parents’ home with the baby.

Isabella was born on April 18, 2002. Not long after her birth, suspicions of infidelity arose. Less than a year later, Ana Carolina separated from Alexandre, believing he was cheating on her. As their daughter grew, they worked out a visitation arrangement: Isabella spent two weekends a month with Alexandre. By that time, Alexandre had begun a new relationship with Anna Carolina Jatobá, who had been his classmate in law school. Their romance began as an affair overlapping with Oliveira’s pregnancy. Eventually, Alexandre and Jatobá married and had two sons, Pietro and Cauã.

Family dynamics became increasingly tense. Oliveira later reported that Jatobá seemed jealous of her and Isabella, and that communication about visitation gradually shifted to Jatobá instead of Alexandre. Members of Alexandre’s own family expressed concern over how Isabella was treated when she stayed with her father and stepmother. Some relatives reportedly avoided leaving Isabella alone with Jatobá, and a neighbor claimed to have heard the paternal grandmother warning that Jatobá was “crazy” and might someday harm the child. Friends recounted that Isabella sometimes returned from visits visibly distressed, crying, and wanting to go home earlier than planned.

On the night of March 29, 2008, five-year-old Isabella Oliveira Nardoni was killed in one of Brazil’s most shocking child murder cases. That evening, Alexandre Nardoni, his wife Anna Carolina Jatobá, and their children returned to their sixth-floor apartment in the Edifício London building in São Paulo. According to Alexandre’s account, he first carried Isabella upstairs alone, leaving his wife and younger sons in the car. He claimed he placed Isabella in the guest room, turned on the lights, locked the door, and went back down to the garage to help his family bring up the boys. When they returned, he said, Isabella was gone.

Minutes later, Isabella was discovered outside, lying gravely injured in the building’s garden. She had fallen six stories, landing face-down. Paramedics attempted resuscitation for over half an hour but were unable to save her life. She died en route to the hospital. In the immediate aftermath, Alexandre and Anna Carolina Jatobá phoned their families in panic. When Isabella’s mother, Ana Carolina Oliveira, arrived, she was so alarmed by her daughter’s injuries that she refrained from moving her, choosing instead to kiss her and whisper reassurances.

Investigators quickly found evidence that contradicted the couple’s version of events. Traces of Isabella’s blood were discovered in the apartment and in Alexandre’s car. A towel and diaper in the home tested positive for her blood, and vomit matching her DNA was found on Alexandre’s T-shirt. Fragments of the apartment window’s nylon safety screen were detected on Alexandre’s clothing, and police recovered pieces of the cut net on a pair of scissors in the apartment. Footprints from Alexandre’s flip-flops were imprinted on the bed beneath the window, suggesting someone had climbed onto the mattress to push or drop the child.

The autopsy further revealed that Isabella’s injuries were not consistent with a simple fall. She had suffered bruises and asphyxiation before being thrown from the window. Her wrists were broken, but the distribution of injuries suggested she had been physically assaulted prior to impact.

On April 18, 2008, less than a month after Isabella’s death, Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá were formally indicted for intentional homicide. Both maintained their innocence, but public opinion was overwhelmingly against them. The case dominated national headlines and became the most closely followed crime story in Brazil’s modern history.

On March 27, 2010, after a highly publicized trial, Alexandre was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. Anna Carolina Jatobá was also convicted and received a similar sentence. Despite appeals and continued proclamations of innocence, the convictions were upheld, and the couple remains incarcerated.