A rope-jumping instructor charged in connection with the death of 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas is facing renewed scrutiny after an old video from the same bridge began circulating online.
The video reportedly shows Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, one of the three instructors charged in the case, performing a risky jump from the so-called Skeleton Bridge while holding a young child.
The clip, said to be from 2023, shows Egoroff running from the bridge with the child clinging to him during the jump. After Maria Eduarda’s death, the resurfaced footage has sparked fresh outrage and questions about the safety culture surrounding the group.
Maria Eduarda died in Limeira, near São Paulo, after authorities say she was launched from the bridge without the main safety rope attached. What was supposed to be an extreme-sports experience has now become the center of a homicide investigation.
Three instructors have been identified in the case: Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42. All three have been charged with homicide and remain under investigation.
Authorities allege the men were involved in preparing and launching Maria Eduarda during the rope-jumping activity. Investigators say the safety cord was allegedly forgotten before she was released from the bridge.
The resurfaced video has added another layer to the public reaction because it appears to show an earlier stunt at the same location. Many viewers online have criticized the decision to involve a child in such a dangerous activity.
Some social media users called the footage irresponsible, while others demanded stricter oversight of the bridge and the people organizing jumps there. The video has fueled claims that risky behavior at the site may have been happening long before Maria Eduarda’s fatal fall.
Other posts linked to Egoroff’s social media reportedly showed additional high-risk activities, including jumps from bridge columns and poses near narrow cliff edges. Those clips are now being viewed differently as investigators examine the group’s broader practices.
Reports also say two of the instructors fled the scene after realizing what had happened. They were later found in a nearby wooded area after a search involving a military helicopter.
Investigators said the suspects claimed they experienced a “blackout” and could not clearly remember who was responsible for attaching the safety rope. That explanation has only intensified questions about how such a basic safety step was missed.
The defense has argued that the instructors were experienced and that the incident was a tragic accident rather than an intentional crime. Their lawyer has also suggested that safety checks were shared among the team rather than handled by one specific person.
Three other workers who were present at the site were initially detained but later released without charge. They were reportedly stationed near the event area handling bracelets for customers rather than directly managing the jump.
Another unresolved question involves a 360-degree camera Maria Eduarda was reportedly carrying before the jump. The device, which may have recorded important moments before the fatal fall, has not been recovered.
As tributes continue for Maria Eduarda, the resurfaced video has brought even more attention to the instructors’ past conduct and the operation at the Skeleton Bridge. For her grieving family and an outraged public, the central question remains the same: how was a young woman allowed to be launched from a bridge without the rope that was supposed to save her?
