37-Year-Old Pilates Teacher, Larissa Rodrigues, Found Dead in Her Apartment – Details
This young Pilates teacher was found dead in her home by someone very close to her. That same individual has since been arrested in connection with the death, along with an accomplice.
According to a Portuguese publication, Larissa Rodrigues, 37, was found dead in her apartment in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, on March 22, 2025. At the time, she was reportedly experiencing marital difficulties with her husband, Dr. Luís Antônio Garnica, 38.
Garnica claimed he discovered Rodrigues unresponsive on the bathroom floor in their shared apartment. As a healthcare professional, he attempted to revive her by moving her to the bed, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
Emergency services, Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU) or the Mobile Emergency Attendance Service, declared her dead at the scene. Although the autopsy results were inconclusive, they pointed to potential complications involving her lungs and heart.
A subsequent toxicology report confirmed the presence of “chumbinho,” a type of poison, raising suspicions of poisoning. Police believe that Rodrigues was poisoned gradually over an extended period. She had reportedly discovered her husband’s infidelity before her death.
According to Maísa Ramos—a businesswoman and friend of Rodrigues—the teacher had been under constant surveillance and harassment by her husband. Ramos said the couple’s relationship had lost all affection and intimacy.
They had not gone out or traveled together for at least a year and a half. Still, Garnica remained fixated on Rodrigues’s whereabouts and frequently accompanied her throughout her daily routines.
He allegedly installed tracking devices in her car and on her phone. Ramos revealed, “He was so jealous that he put a tracker in her car. Last year, she found out that there was a tracker in her car, even though she was just a woman who would go from home to work, from work back home, and to the gym.”
On May 6, 2025, police arrested Garnica and his mother, Elizabete Arrabaça, on suspicion of qualified homicide. Arrabaça was reportedly the last person to see Rodrigues alive. The charges carry a prison sentence ranging from 12 to 30 years, which may be extended if the victim was a spouse, partner, or family member.
A Facebook video showed the moment police cuffed and arrested the victim’s husband. Ramos, who had known the victim for over 12 years, shared that she had spent enough time with the couple to witness troubling patterns. Early on, she observed Garnica’s disrespectful behavior toward his wife.
“He was somewhat abusive to her, making tasteless jokes, mocking her appearance a bit, and belittling her in a rather rude way. However, she would deny it, saying it was just how he was,” Ramos said during an interview.
Although the couple was often seen together, their dynamic changed after Garnica began a postgraduate course in São Paulo. He then became more emotionally distant and avoided public interactions with his wife, leading her to suspect an affair.