World News for Students of English

15-12-2014 07:00

A man who could be one of Brazil’s most prolific serial killers has confessed to murdering 42 people over the past decade.

Sailson Jose das Gracas aged 26 who was arrested on Wednesday told reporters at a police station in Rio that he killed for pleasure and the adrenaline rush.

“I’d kill just for the pleasure of it. I’d kill and then leave. I’d kill, stay there for a bit and then leave.”

“I started robbing purses and things like that. Little things. I did petty theft, and as I got older, I started having different thoughts. My thoughts started changing. From stealing, I started thinking about killing. At 15, I robbed purses or 16. And then by the time I was 17, I killed the first person. I felt that adrenaline, the first woman.”

His preferred victims were white females whom he said he strangled. Among the 42 victims, 39 are thought to be women. Police made das Gracas available for reporters to question in a Q&A session. That’s not uncommon in Brazil. He said his wife was aware of the murders.

Difficult words: prolific (active), confess (to say that you did something bad), decade (10 years), adrenaline (chemical in your body that excites you in response to intense events), rush (a sudden, strong and pleasant feeling), petty (small), strangle (to squeeze somebody’s neck to kill him), Q&A (question and answer).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com