A devoted father with a “huge heart” has tragically died after being subjected to a brutal robbery where he was tortured and forced to swallow acid.
Tiago Augusto Nicolau, 30, a Brazilian, had briefly left his home to clean his car at his mother’s home but never made it back. The following day, a passer-by found him desperately struggling for survival on a roadside.
The taxi driver was discovered with severe damage to his mouth and tongue. Emergency services hurried to the site and transported him to a hospital in Leme, to the northwest of São Paulo, where he was placed in the intensive care unit.
Before succumbing to his injuries on June 18, Tiago managed to share details of the harrowing incident. At approximately 2pm, he recounted that two armed assailants had intercepted his vehicle and taken him to an isolated area.
At this location, he was violently attacked and coerced into consuming a caustic liquid, after which the attackers absconded with his Renault Sandero and mobile phone. Although tests confirmed the ingestion of acid, the precise nature of the substance remains either undisclosed or unknown, reports the Mirror.
Doctors also noted that Tiago had suffered extensive trauma to his larynx and oesophagus. Initially recorded as a robbery, the case has since escalated to a robbery-homicide investigation due to Tiago’s death in the medical facility.
Authorities are actively seeking to identify the perpetrators. Those close to Tiago remember him as a dedicated family man, immensely committed to his wife and their young daughter, Sofia.
After vision issues compelled him to resign from the Brazilian Air Force, he took up work as a rideshare driver. His final farewell took place in Leme on Friday, June 20.
His friend Luana Sampaio remarked: “Titi, you weren’t just my best friend, you were my brother. A guy with a huge heart, full of plans, with a love that overflowed for Sofia, for whom you lived and dreamed every day.”