Man accused in brutal murder of Brazilian soccer star says player was trying to rape his wife

Brazilian soccer star found nearly beheaded, genitals severed

Brazilian soccer star Daniel Correa Freitas was discovered nearly beheaded with his genitals

One of the men accused in the murder of a Brazilian soccer star says he killed Daniel Correa Freitas because the athlete was trying to rape his wife.

Edison Brittes Jr., 38, his wife Cristiana Brittes, and their daughter Allana Brittes, 18, were named suspects in the murder of Freitas, who was found dead last month -- nearly beheaded and with his genitals “severed.”

Edison Brittes Jr., revealed his motive for killing Freitas in an interview on Brazilian television, according to the UK Sun. He said the 24-year-old midfielder was attending a birthday party at the family home for Brittes Jr.'s daughter, and, at one point, Freitas went inside a room and locked the door behind him.

“I knocked on the door to my room and when I opened it he was on top of my wife and she was screaming and begging for help,” Edison Brittes Jr., said. “What I did was what any man would do, because the woman that was there was not my wife -- she was every woman in Brazil.”

He also downplayed rumors that Freitas had a previous relationship with his wife and daughter. Brittes’ daughter said she met Freitas a year ago, but never was involved with him, the UK Sun reported.

“When I threw him off my wife, I threw him on the floor and stopped her being raped by that monstrous s----g,” Brittes said.

Freitas, who was part of the Sao Paulo FC system – one of the biggest soccer clubs in the country – was found dead Oct. 27, in Sao Jose dos Pinhais in the southern part of the country, police said.

He was beaten to death in the family home before he was dumped, police said, according to the UK Sun. Freitas' genitals were reportedly severed after his death.

A municipal guard told the local newspaper Band B that Freitas was the victim of “torture.”

“From the appearance of the body, it was a very violent situation,” the municipal guard told the paper. “The man had two deep cuts on his neck, his head was nearly beheaded, and his genitals were severed.”

Freitas was playing on loan from Sao Paulo for second-division Sao Bento, according to ESPN. The midfielder began his career at Botafogo before moving to Sao Paulo in 2015.