Residents of Sorocaba, located in southeastern Brazil, hadn’t seen Joao Batista Groppo’s wife for quit awhile, therefore they weren’t even sure he was still married.
He was and had by any standards a long marriage, 40 years with his wife of which 16 years she spent in a locked cellar. Groppo, 64, justified keeping his wife locked up because she was mentally ill and aggressive.
Brazilian authorities are very skeptical especially since he had his unidentified wife locked in a “filthy and dark” cellar and had his girlfriend Maria Furquim involved in the matter. She was arrested as an accomplice.
