Renata Rebeca dies after window frame gives way at São Luís hotel By Luís Henrique Costa
3 min read
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A 26-year-old woman from Pará, Renata Rebeca Negrão Saldanha dos Santos, died in the early hours of Tuesday, 3 November 2026, after falling from the seventh floor of the Rio Poty Hotel in São Luís, Maranhão. Shortly before 1:30 a.m., she tried to lean on a window frame in the hallway while looking for her room key, and the aluminum fixture gave way. The fall struck the hotel’s entrance canopy, and emergency teams gave her first aid at the scene, but she did not survive.
The impact caused injuries across her body that proved fatal. Her death is being investigated as a fall from a great height.
Security camera footage recorded the moments before the fall. The couple was walking along the room corridor when they stopped at an opening on the outer wall to look for the access card. Renata placed her body on the ledge and leaned against the aluminum frame, which came away from the masonry at once.
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Experts from the Perícia Oficial inspected the building to determine the mechanical condition and upkeep of the window frame. According to the Secretaria de Estado da Segurança Pública do Maranhão (SSP-MA), ballistic and engineering exams are still under way, and no technical conclusion has been reached on the cause of the detachment or on any failure in preventive maintenance.
Police classify death as accidental while exams continue
The Polícia Civil do Maranhão is handling the case under a preliminary classification of accidental death. Delegate George Marques, who leads the investigation, said the video records rule out, at this stage, any sign of criminal conduct or interference by third parties in the fall.
The victim’s boyfriend gave a statement to police and was released shortly afterward. He told officers he had drunk alcoholic beverages hours before the incident and could not describe how the metal fixture came loose. Police do not consider him a suspect at this time.
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Key details of the fall at Rio Poty Hotel
- Investigating unit: Superintendência de Homicídios e Proteção à Pessoa (SHPP)
- Point of the fall: window of the common corridor on the 7th floor
- Point of impact: concrete canopy at the main entrance
- Hotel statement: the Rio Poty Hotel said it is cooperating with the Polícia Civil and expressed solidarity with the family
Dates of the couple’s stay in São Luís
- 28 October 2026: the couple arrives in São Luís to take part in a poker tournament
- Afternoon of 3 November 2026: the Instituto Médico Legal completes the autopsy and releases the body to relatives
Renata lived in Ananindeua, in the Belém metropolitan area, and left two minor children. The transfer of the body and the burial were scheduled for the family’s home city.
