Prosecutors are seeking to exhume the body of Brazilian influencer Barbara Jankavski, more widely known as the “Human Barbie,” to determine if her death was a homicide.
Authorities initially ruled Jankavski’s cause of death was an accidental cocaine overdose, but now a new court filing has called for an additional investigation by a homicide squad, according to local outlet g1.
The filing comes after prosecutors and Jankavski’s family suggested she may have been murdered.
The 31-year-old content creator, famous online for undergoing 27 plastic surgeries, was discovered dead Nov 2 inside the Sao Paulo home of public defender Renato Campos Pinto de Vitto.
According to a police report obtained by CNN Brasil, De Vitto, 51, told authorities that he spent the night with Jankavski after hiring her for “sexual services” and that the two used illicit drugs together.
De Vitto claimed that when he realised she wasn’t moving, he called emergency services and attempted to perform CPR for nearly 10 minutes.
Paramedics pronounced Jankavski dead at the scene, but noted several injuries including bruises on her left eye and marks on her back.
The prosecutor’s office now argues that the injuries on her body point to the possibility that she died from an assault or strangulation, according to g1.
While the court has yet to approve the exhumation, the request seeks to examine X-rays of Jankavski’s neck for evidence of asphyxiation, in addition to a DNA analysis of material under her fingernails for signs of a possible struggle.
Jankavski gained widespread attention on social media for openly sharing her numerous cosmetic procedures with her following of more than 400,000 across Instagram and TikTok. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
