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Please do not suffer in silence.

By the end of 1967, after months of public speculation, contradictory witness accounts and failed

forensic efforts, the official investigation into the lead mass case was brought to a close.

The final police report listed the cause of death for both Miguel Josefiana and Manuel

Pereira de Cruz as undetermined. There was no evidence of foul

play, no external injuries, no sign of trauma. The bodies had not been robbed, nor had they

been bound or restrained. There were no suspects, no known accomplices. No crime, as defined by

Brazilian law, had taken place. At least none that can be proven.

The mask were recorded in the case file as homemade items fashioned from lead. Their purpose,

according to the investigating officers, could not be definitively explained. The notebook,

containing a brief and cryptic instruction, was filed as a personal possession

with no further analysis attached.

The towels and water bottle were noted, but never tied to any larger purpose.

There was no final theory offered up by law enforcement, no declaration of intent, no

ruling of suicide or accident, or even ritual. The documents reflect only what was known, and that in the end was not much.

So, no legal action was taken.

The families of Miguel and Manuel were left without answers.

...