Case file · Retrieval claim
Death of Corporal Marco Eli Chereze
A Varginha military policeman, Marco Eli Chereze, died of a general infection in February 1996, weeks after the 'Varginha creature' reports. Ufologists claim he had handled one of the creatures without gloves.
1996 CE · -21.55, -45.43 · status: claim
The account
The claim became a central part of the Varginha story told by ufologists Ubirajara Rodrigues and Vitório Pacaccini, who said the army and firefighters captured two beings in January 1996.
The sceptical view
An army inquiry found no captured beings, and his family's later attempts to get answers produced no evidence of a link. His illness followed minor surgery, and infections of that kind can kill.