Suicide of Daniele Alves Lopes

Daniele Alves Lopes was a 16-year-old Brazilian who jumped to her death from the Centro Comercial Presidente building in São Paulo's central business district.^[1] The suicide was filmed by a Brazilian news show, Aqui Agora, and shown on SBT. This broadcast led to a surge in ratings and a national conversation about the sensationalized, violent, and amoral nature of the show.^[2]

Suicide of Daniele Alves Lopes

Daniele, as recorded by Aqui Agora
Date	July 5, 1993 (1993-07-05)
Location	República, São Paulo, Brazil
Type	Suicide by jumping

Death

On July 5, 1993, Daniele Lopes, despondent from a recent romantic break-up, climbed out on a seventh-story parapet of an office building where she worked as a receptionist. While she was contemplating her fate, police and a news crew arrived and started filming. The events were filmed until after the girl jumped, but the scene was cut before she reached the ground.^[3][4]

When the unedited footage was shown on Brazilian national television, it caused a spike in ratings. Lopes's youth and broken heart may have romanticized and contributed to the interest in the incident.^[3]

Aftermath

The Brazilian psychiatrist Jacob Pinheiro Goldberg was a prominent critical voice of the broadcast, stating it may cause a societal desensitization effect,^[5] and psychoanalyst Jurandir Freire Costa referred to the media as vultures. Other communication experts were also critical.^[3]

In 1994, the Alves Lopes family reached a R$ 1.05 million settlement with SBT for moral damage.^[6]