Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, a Brazilian, has confessed to shooting Dom Phillips, a British journalist, and Bruno Pereira, an indigenous expert, and burying them in the jungle, Brazil police said on Wednesday. 

Eduardo Fontes, a detective with the Brazilian police, said Amarildo “voluntarily decided to confess his criminal practice” and “he narrated in detail and pointed out the place where he buried the bodies”.

Fontes also revealed that Amarildo led investigators to a site where human remains were dug up.

Police arrested Amarildo and Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, his brother, in connection with the disappearance of the men. Although Amarildo confessed to the crime, Oseney said he knew nothing about the disappearance or killing of Phillips and Pereira. 

BBC reported that Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, went missing in a remote part of the Amazon rainforest on June 5. 

Pereira is an expert on isolated tribes in the Amazon and worked with Funai, a government indigenous affairs agency. He was on leave when he and Phillips went to the Amazon rainforest. 

Phillips is a veteran journalist who has contributed to the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and Britain’s Guardian. He has been living in Brazil for over ten years with his wife. Phillips wrote numerous pieces about how illegal gold miners encroach on indigenous territory and the environmental crisis in the Amazon. 

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Alessandra Sampaio, Phillips’ wife, released a statement after the Brazilian police announced Amarildo’s confession.  

“Although we are still awaiting definitive confirmations, this tragic outcome puts an end to the anguish of not knowing Dom and Bruno’s whereabouts. Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love,” Sampaio said. 

“Today, we also begin our quest for justice. I hope that the investigations exhaust all possibilities and bring definitive answers on all relevant details as soon as possible.”

Sampaio thanked everyone involved in the search for her husband and Pereira. She appreciated the efforts of the indigenous peoples and Univaja in particular. 

Univaja, the association of the indigenous community in the region, was the first to alert authorities when Pereira and Phillips went missing. 

“Univaja understands their murder is a political crime, they were both human rights defenders and died doing work to look after us indigenous people from Vale do Javari,” Univaja said in a statement. 

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Both Pereira and Phillips had received threats days before they were last seen on June 5. 

Phillips and Pereira had been travelling by boat in the Javari Valley in the west of Amazonas state, near the border with Peru, to interview members of an indigenous guard. They were doing research for a new book. 

More than 20 indigenous groups have received threats for denouncing the activities of illegal miners, fishers, and hunters in the area. 

Pereira and Phillips stopped in São Rafael, where Pereira planned to talk to a local leader about joint patrols between indigenous people and residents of riverside communities. 

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The indigenous rights groups told reporters that Phillips and Pereira arrived at 6 am and set off shortly afterwards towards Atalaia do Norte, a two-hour trip.

Univaja sent out a search party at around 2 pm when they did not arrive. The search party found no trace of the men along the route they had been expected to take.

Residents of São Gabriel, a community downriver from São Rafael, were the last to see Phillips and Pereira’s boat. 

Univaja said Pereira and Phillips traveled in a new boat and had enough fuel for their trip.