Ronnie Lessa is a former military police officer from Rio de Janeiro who was convicted for the murders of city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes. The case became one of the most closely followed criminal investigations in Brazil after the two were killed in Rio de Janeiro on March 14, 2018.
Lessa was arrested in March 2019 and initially faced prosecution as an alleged participant in the killings. During the investigation, he entered into a plea-bargain cooperation agreement with Brazilian authorities. In statements made as part of the agreement, Lessa confessed to participating in the execution of Marielle and Anderson. The Supreme Federal Court later made portions of his cooperation agreement public.
The prosecution's case established that Lessa and former military police officer Élcio de Queiroz were responsible for carrying out the attack. Both were tried by a jury in Rio de Janeiro in October 2024. After a trial lasting approximately twenty-two hours, Lessa was convicted and sentenced to 78 years, 9 months and 30 days in prison. Élcio de Queiroz received a sentence of 59 years, 8 months and 10 days. The court also ordered the two to pay compensation to the families of the victims.
The case did not end with the 2024 verdict. In August 2026, the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice increased Lessa's sentence from 78 years and 9 months to 81 years and 10 months. The same decision increased Queiroz's sentence to 76 years and 6 months. The change followed an appeal by the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office.
Lessa's cooperation agreement also became important to the investigation into those accused of ordering the murders. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, brothers Domingos and Francisco Brazão were convicted by the Supreme Federal Court in 2025 for ordering the attack. Former Rio Civil Police chief Rivaldo Barbosa and former military police officer Ronald Paulo Alves were also convicted in the same case for their respective roles.
The Supreme Federal Court rejected appeals from the five defendants in June 2026, maintaining their convictions. The court stated that the appeals did not identify grounds capable of changing the previous judgment.
Lessa's case therefore has two distinct judicial dimensions: his own conviction as one of the people who carried out the murders, and his cooperation with investigators concerning the broader investigation into those who allegedly planned and ordered the attack.
His imprisonment also became part of the security measures surrounding the case. In 2024, the Supreme Federal Court authorized his transfer from the federal penitentiary in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, to the Tremembé prison complex in São Paulo. Later reporting identified him as serving his sentence in the federal penitentiary system.
As of 2026, Ronnie Lessa remains imprisoned under a conviction for the murders of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes. His sentence was increased to 81 years and 10 months in August 2026, while the separate proceedings against those convicted of ordering the attack have also advanced through Brazil's federal courts.
SOURCES
Supreme Federal Court of Brazil — STF
STF: Transfer of Ronnie Lessa and cooperation agreement
Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office — MPRJ
2024 convictions of Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz
Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office — MPRJ
2026 increase in Lessa's sentence
Supreme Federal Court of Brazil — STF
2026 decision maintaining convictions in the Marielle case
Federal Public Prosecutor's Office — MPF
STF convictions of those accused of ordering the murders
