Two brothers have admitted to killing British journalist Dom Phillips and his partner Bruno Pereira in the Amazon rainforest in western Brazil, according to reports.
Phillips and the indigenous expert disappeared more than a week ago on a remote stretch of the Itaquai River.
Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira and his brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira have admitted to killing them, according to Band News.
He also reported that federal police said the suspects allegedly dismembered the bodies, set them on fire and threw them into a ditch.
Image: Phillips (pictured) and his companion disappeared more than a week ago Image: Supporters at a vigil in front of the Brazilian embassy in London for the missing couple
During his confession, it appears that Oseney de Oliveira took the police to the scene.
One of the suspects has been photographed with officers being shot in the river in an area where search teams are searching for the remains of the couple.
A photographer from Atalaia do Norte witnessed police escorting the unidentified suspect, who was wearing a hood, on a boat.
Freelance journalist Phillips, 57, and Brazilian Pereira, 41, were last seen on June 5 near the entrance to the indigenous territory of the Javari Valley, which borders Peru and Colombia.
Henrique Cury, a friend of Mr Phillips, told Sky News that the incident was “shocking” to Mr Phillips’ Brazilian wife, his British family and all his friends.
Image: Henrique Cury
“He made a lot of friends all over the country. Dom was a very sweet and kind person. Having that ending is very shocking for all of us.”
He said it was typical of Mr. Phillips to have decided to travel again before starting work on his book.
She spoke to him a week before he left and asked him why, if he had traveled far north of the Amazon, he was now also heading west.
“He told me, ‘I want to see the whole picture.’
Claims of torture
The detained brothers, both 41-year-old fishermen, are being held at the Atalaia do Norte police station, the nearest town.
Amarildo de Oliveira, nicknamed Pelado, fired a rifle at Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pereira the day before they disappeared, according to the natives who were with them.
However, he denies doing anything wrong and claims that the military police tortured him to obtain a confession, his family said.
Phillips has reported on Brazil for more than 15 years for newspapers such as The Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Financial Times.