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Marcelo Santoro is charged with the murder his ex-girlfriend Cecilia Haddad
Ms Haddad's body was discovered floating in the Lane Cove River on April 29
Santoro flew back to his native Brazil the same week her lifeless body was found
Ms Haddad's mother and friend have spoken to court, revealing her final days

By Zoe Zaczek and Sahar Mourad For Daily Mail Australia and Aap

Published: 22:33 EDT, 31 October 2018 | Updated: 22:53 EDT, 31 October 2018

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The mother of murdered Brazilian woman Cecilia Haddad has broken down in tears in a Rio court as she told of a frantic final phone conversation with her daughter in Sydney before she disappeared.

Milu Muller, 70, said that during the call she heard ex-boyfriend Marcelo Santoro, 40, who is accused of Haddad's murder, banging on her daughter's apartment door.

'I could tell his voice clearly,' she said.

'He was shouting "open the door" and "I want to talk to you". Cecilia told him she did not want to talk and twice threatened to call the police.'

The suspect, who was not present at the pretrial hearing at a court in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, is accused of the murder of the 38-year-old in Sydney in April.

Marcelo Santoro, 40, (right) is charged with the murder of Cecilia Haddad, 38 (left)

Milu Muller, Ms Haddad's mother, told the court her daughter considered hiring a security guard for protection but it was too costly (pictured: Cecilia Haddad)

Ms Haddad's fully-clothed body was discovered floating in Sydney's Lane Cove River on April 29.

Santoro allegedly returned to his native Brazil on the same weekend her lifeless body was found to avoid arrest.

The pair had dated but Cecilia had told family she felt frightened because he did not accept the end of their courtship.

Muller told the court on Wednesday her daughter told her that Santoro had initially treated her like a princess but after they broke up he became obsessive and 'persecuted her'.

The crucial phone call happened at lunchtime on Saturday, April 28 (Sydney time).

Haddad had previously told her mother, who had recently had heart surgery, about her concerns about Santoro, but the older woman believed she was being careful what she said to avoid alarming her.

A friend and colleague of Ms Haddad's from Perth, Rita Maciel, earlier told the hearing Santoro (pictured) had 'stalked' her friend

According to Mrs Muller, she could hear a noise as if someone was trying to knock down a door while the pair spoke the night before she was found dead.

Mrs Muller said she heard Santoro telling her daughter to open the door as he wished to speak with her.

'I said: 'What horror! What is this creature doing there, has he gone away?' the sobbing mother told a court on Thursday, News Corp reported.

'I told her to go to the window to check that he had left, but she said she was sure he had. I asked her to hire private security, but she said it would be too expensive. She said he had a flight booked on Monday to return to Brazil, so there would not be any need to worry about him after that.'

'I never heard from her again,' she added, breaking down in tears.

After her daughter did not check in with her the next day as they had agreed, Muller sent a series of increasingly desperate messages to her daughter on Facebook Messenger.

'Then I received a message from her account telling me that she was going to the mountains until Thursday. It was obvious from the tone and content that it was someone pretending to be her.'

Ms Haddad's fully-clothed body was discovered floating in the Lane Cove River on April 29, with Santoro flying back to his native Brazil on the same weekend her lifeless body was found

A friend and colleague of Ms Haddad's from Perth, Rita Maciel, earlier told the hearing Santoro had 'stalked' her friend.

Ms Maciel said Santoro (right) would follow and threaten Ms Haddad (left)

The 37-year-old was emotional when she spoke to the court in Portuguese over a video link from Perth.

'She was afraid to leave her home, she was afraid to go to work, but she was a strong person and dedicated so she did go to work. She was afraid to leave her house in her car. He made her life a psychological panic with his abuse,' Ms Maciel said.

Ms Maciel said Santoro would follow and threaten Ms Haddad.

When Ms Haddad went to Perth to visit her friend, Ms Maciel begged her to stay a week longer until Santoro was scheduled to leave.

'She couldn't wait for him to leave, she had a good heart and even tried to help him,' said Ms Maciel.

It has been alleged by Rio de Janeiro police that Santoro flew back to Brazil because he was of the belief that country's constitution would not allow citizens to be extradited, meaning he could not be caught by authorities in New South Wales

According to Ms Maciel, Ms Haddad had been in her house saying she couldn't wait to be freed from Santoro - five days before she was found floating in a river.

She told the court Santoro was a 'monster' who didn't want Ms Haddad to be happy.

Police in Rio arrested Santoro at a relative's house in July, after he had apparently fled Australia. He is expected to appear in court to testify on December 17.

Judge Daniel Werneck Cotta will decide if Santoro will face a full trial. If he does, the result will be decided by a jury of seven. If convicted, he could face a sentence of 30 years.