Police divers under bridge where body of Sydney executive found
Police divers are searching the water beneath Gladesville Bridge in a search for clues into the death of Brazilian businesswoman Cecilia Haddad.
The divers are concentrating their efforts at the northern end of the bridge, where, it is understood, investigators suspect her body may have been dumped.
The body of Ms Haddad, 38, was found floating in the Lane Cove River near Woolwich in Sydney's north on Sunday, after she was reported missing by friends.
After first believing Ms Haddad may have drowned accidentally, police soon began treating her death as suspicious.
On Wednesday, investigators completed a post-mortem examination and, while they have not released any details about her injuries, the Herald understands a preliminary report indicates she was murdered.
Police want to speak to a number of "persons of interest" over Ms Haddad's death, including her former lover Mario Marcelo Santoro, from whom she recently separated and who travelled from Sydney to Brazil in the past few days.
Police sources said investigators were using a liaison officer based in South America to establish contact with Mr Santoro.
There is no suggestion that Mr Santoro is a suspect, and police continue to investigate other leads.
The Brazilian embassy in Canberra has not yet received a request for co-operation from Australian authorities into the investigation, ambassador Manuel Santos told Fairfax Media. Mr Santos said Brazil does not permit the extradition of its citizens.
Ms Haddad's mother Milu Muller said she "does not know if [she] will survive the tragedy" of her daughter's death.
Writing in Portuguese from her home in Rio de Janeiro, Ms Muller told Fairfax Media of the love she felt for Cecilia, who was "always a very talented, intelligent girl with a pure heart".
"I would love to be there with my beloved and adored daughter, but I had cardiac surgery and I still do not have [my] doctor's permission for long flights," Ms Muller said in her email, which has been translated into English.
"I want people to know that she did not believe that people were cruel and selfish. She always forgave and gave people one more chance. I think she was too good for this world."
Ms Muller added, "maybe if they arrest the murderer, I may have some relief. Thank you and please do everything to help catch the monster who did this".
On Wednesday, investigators revealed Ms Haddad's red Fiat 500, with a black roof, could be the key to solving how she was killed, as they appealed to the public to "help piece together" her final movements.
Ms Haddad moved to Australia in 2007 with her then-husband, Felipe Torres, working as the supply chain manager for BHP's integrated remote operations centre in Western Australia before moving to NSW in 2016.
According to their LinkedIn profiles, Mr Santoro and Ms Haddad attended the same university in Brazil, while in Australia they had both worked in community support roles at disability service provider Hireup since 2017.
An ASIC search reveals Mr Santoro was a managing director of D.Care, a registered business partnership between "C Haddad and M Santoro," based at Ms Haddad's residential address in Ryde.
She had recently started her own business, CHC Consulting, in the Putney area after leaving her job as the head of operational planning at freight company Pacific National.
NSW detectives will also travel to Western Australia to take a statement from Carolina Camara, Ms Haddad's friend of 11 years.
“I know personal things about Cecilia that I am going to share fully with [police], if it’s going to help some way, I hope so. She confided a lot in me,” Ms Camara told the Herald on Wednesday.
Mr Torres flew from Western Australia to formally identify her body. It is understood he was in Perth at the time of her death.
With Lia Timson
More to come