“That Damned Rope Took You Away From Me Forever” — Mother’s Heartbreaking Tribute as Three Workers Appear in Court After Fatal Bungee Jump
Three men charged in connection with the death of 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas appeared before a judge on Monday after pushing her off a 130-foot bridge in Brazil without attaching a safety rope — and their explanation for what happened has left investigators, her family, and a watching world struggling to make sense of it.
Asked who was responsible for the final safety checks before Freitas was thrown from the Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, São Paulo, two of the three defendants gave the same answer.
“I can’t remember.”
What Happened at the Bridge
Video footage from the incident shows Freitas being carried horizontally in what is called a “Superman pose” by two men at the top of the Ponte do Esqueleto — an abandoned railway bridge that has become a popular extreme sports location. After she is thrown from the platform, the camera pans to reveal the safety line still lying unused on the bridge.
Witnesses can be heard screaming “the rope, people, the rope” as she falls. A nurse who happened to be nearby reached Freitas while she was still alive.
“She was breathing heavily. Her pupils were dilated. Her pulse was weak. I even talked to her,” nurse Rayza Dias told reporters. “I told her, ‘Nobody dies on my shift.’ Even though I wasn’t on my shift.”
It was too late. Freitas was pronounced dead at the scene.
“A Blackout” During Setup
The three men taken into custody and charged with homicide with eventual intent have been identified locally as Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27.
Luis Felipe, who told police he earned the equivalent of approximately £26.50 per jump, said team members did not have fixed responsibilities during jumps and that safety checks were carried out jointly — leaving it unclear who held final accountability for any individual participant.
When asked directly who was responsible for checking Freitas’s cord, he said he could not remember. Cintra reportedly gave investigators the same response.
Their lawyer, Rafael Gomes dos Santos, said the men were “in a state of shock” and described the incident as unprecedented in their experience.
“They cannot explain what happened because they have been doing this for years,” he said. “Nothing like this has ever happened.”
All three were remanded in custody following their court appearance.
“My Beloved Daughter, You Are Gone”
Hours after her daughter’s funeral, Freitas’s mother Valdenia posted a tribute online that has since been widely shared.
“That damned rope took you away from me forever,” she wrote. “My beloved daughter, you are gone and all that remains here is pain and longing. I will love you forever.”
Freitas had been excited about the jump. In the moments before it happened, she posted photographs of the venue, the equipment, and the company’s banner on her social media. Her final post — written with the kind of lighthearted energy that makes it particularly painful to read now — captured exactly where she was and how she felt about being there.
“Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?” she wrote.
The company’s Instagram page, which had advertised the experience as “a jump to the extraordinary,” was reportedly taken down following her death.
