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‘Be very careful with this man’: Victim’s mother tells of her last conversation with daughter

CECILIA Haddad’s ex-boyfriend could be heard banging on her door and demanding to be let into her Sydney apartment during a terrifying phone call to her mother shortly before he allegedly­ murdered her.

Ms Haddad’s mother Milu Muller has revealed to The Daily Telegraph the chilling details of the call that is understood to be the last time the ex-mining executive was heard alive.

It comes after the Telegraph exclusively reported yesterday a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mario Marcelo Santoro, 40, the former lover who flew from Sydney­ to his home in Brazil the day Ms Haddad’s body was found.

Cecilia Haddad and mother Milu Muller. Picture: Facebook
Cecilia Haddad and mother Milu Muller. Picture: Facebook

The last time she spoke to her daughter on April 28, Ms Muller said the 38-year-old was helping her fill in her tax returns when their conversation was interrupted by Mr Santoro at the front door.

“I heard Marcelo’s voice outside, saying he wanted to come in,” Ms Muller said. “Cecilia told him to go away, but he carried on banging and shouting for her to let him in. So she told him that if he didn’t go away she would call the police.

“After a while he stopped, then I heard Cecilia telling him: ‘Stop walking up and down the corridor, I can hear your ­footsteps’.

Milu Muller heard the confrontation over the phone from Sydney. Picture: Facebook
Milu Muller heard the confrontation over the phone from Sydney. Picture: Facebook

“I was alarmed by what I was hearing. I said to her ‘be very careful with this man’.”

Ms Haddad ended the call saying she needed to get ready for a lunch date with a friend. She never arrived, and friends reported her missing later that day. Her body was found in the Lane Cove River the next morning, April 29, with rocks in her pockets to weigh it down.

THE NEWLY RELEASED DETAIL ABOUT CECILIA HADDAD’S FINAL MOMENTS

“It was the last time I ever spoke to her,” Ms Muller said. “I don’t think he did go away.”

Brazilian-born Ms Haddad had previously been in a relationship with Mr Santoro, who lived in her Ryde apartment until she told him to move out just two weeks ­before she was killed.

Brazilian murder victim Cecilia Haddad. Picture: Facebook
Brazilian murder victim Cecilia Haddad. Picture: Facebook
Her body was found in the Lane Cove River with rocks in pockets of her clothes.
Her body was found in the Lane Cove River with rocks in pockets of her clothes.
Mr Haddad’s Fiat was found by police in the car park at West Ryde train station.
Mr Haddad’s Fiat was found by police in the car park at West Ryde train station.

Mr Haddad had let Mr Santoro stay in the apartment after breaking up with him early this year after his parents and his two daughters came to stay with them for a Christmas visit that ended up lasting for two months, Ms Muller said.

IN-DEPTH REPORT: THE MYSTERY OF CECILIA HADDAD’S DISAPPEARANCE AND DEATH

“My daughter put up with them there for all that time. She called me and told me how difficult they were,” she said.

After the break-up. Mr Santoro fell into a pattern of disturbing behaviour, Ms Muller said. “After she told him it was over, he started to … follow her around,” she said.

Ms Muller said that she told her daughter to report Mr Santoro to police. Picture: Alex Ribeiro
Ms Muller said that she told her daughter to report Mr Santoro to police. Picture: Alex Ribeiro

“When ­Cecilia left the house to go to work or do something she would find him standing outside her door.

“He was often there when she got back home, too. He would go after her shouting at her, saying that he needed to speak to her.

“Cecilia would call me and tell me everything, and I became worried for her ­because of his aggressive ­behaviour.”

Cecilia Haddad’s body was found at Woolwich. Picture: Facebook
Cecilia Haddad’s body was found at Woolwich. Picture: Facebook
Ms Haddad with Mario Marcelo Santoro.
Ms Haddad with Mario Marcelo Santoro.

Ms Muller said that she told her daughter to report Mr Santoro to the police but Ms Haddad never did, saying she felt sorry for him and did not want him to be embarrassed in front of his daughters if he was deported because of her.

Ms Muller, who has spoken to NSW Police, said she was breaking her silence as she “can’t stand it any longer”.

“I’ve kept all this to myself for two months. I haven’t eaten or slept for two months. I’ll never have my daughter back. I don’t have the slightest   desire to still be alive,” she said.

“My fear is that I won’t see justice done. He was a coward coming back to Brazil.”

Cecilia Haddad on the boat in Perth with then-husband Felipe Torres (left), alongside Juliana Vilela and Andre Atem, also believed to be married (right), on a boat in the Swan River near Perth. Marcelo Santoro is in the background.
Cecilia Haddad on the boat in Perth with then-husband Felipe Torres (left), alongside Juliana Vilela and Andre Atem, also believed to be married (right), on a boat in the Swan River near Perth. Marcelo Santoro is in the background.

ALL SMILES ON BOARD WITH ACCUSED KILLER

IT’S supposed to be a happy snap of friends cheerily grinning for the camera — but is now a haunting image with the man accused of Cecilia Haddad’s murder looming over her shoulder.

Taken on a Valentine’s Day boat trip on Perth’s picturesque Swan River in 2013 the photo shows Haddad with her then husband, Felipe Torres, alongside friends Juliana Vilela and Andre Atem.

And behind them is a beaming Marcelo Santoro, the man who flew back to Brazil the day Ms Haddad’s body was found.

Mr Torres posted the photo to his Facebook account but it is not known why Mr Santoro was there on what appears to be a romantic couples retreat.

Ms Haddad lived in Perth at the time with her then husband and moved to Sydney in 2016.

Mr Santoro’s marriage broke up in 2016.

Former boyfriend of murdered Sydney woman cooperating with NSW police

All five of those in the photo are believed to have studied engineering together at the Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro.

Mr Atem later worked at Brazilian mining giant Vale, where Ms Haddad also worked for a year before moving to Australia.

“They remained close friends, even after Cecilia and Felipe split up,” a friend of both couples said.

“They were always getting together, having a good time. It must be horrifying for them to see that photo today.”

Mr Santoro’s marriage ended in 2016.
Mr Santoro’s marriage ended in 2016.

EXTRADITION EFFORTS MAY PROVE IMPOSSIBLE

DESPITE a warrant being issued for his arrest Mario Marcelo Santoro will almost certainly escape extradition to Australia.

The Daily Telegraph understands Brazil is under no obligation to send him back to Sydney to face questioning over Cecilia Haddad’s murder because of ­special exceptions in a little-used 1996 extradition treaty.

Mr Santoro with his two children in Copacabana, Brazil. Picture: Alex Ribeiro
Mr Santoro with his two children in Copacabana, Brazil. Picture: Alex Ribeiro

But Mr Santoro could be tried before a Brazilian court because of his citizenship, and that of Brazilian-born Ms Haddad, whose body was found in Sydney on April 29.

The Telegraph yesterday exclusively revealed that NSW Police had secured a warrant for his arrest.

Former diplomat Kevin Boreham, now an international law academic at the Australian National University, said Brazil’s constitution prevented any Brazilian national being extradited.

“Because this guy is a Brazilian, Brazil itself could claim extradition, so the ­matter may be brought before the courts in Brazil,” Mr Boreham said.

Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter yesterday said he had not heard back from Brazilian authorities.

The Brazilian embassy did not ­respond to a request for comment.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/be-very-careful-with-this-man-victims-mother-tells-of-her-last-conversation-with-daughter/news-story/f43b9c1587d4d4ffe95648989eef5b10