Brazil: Police detail how boxer Gatti committed suicide, why they first called it homicide

Brazil provide details on boxer Gatti’s death

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian police say boxer Arturo Gatti hanged himself with a bag strap that he tied around a wooden staircase column more than seven feet off the ground.

Milena Saraiva, a spokeswoman for police in the northeastern city of Recife, says police first thought Gatti was strangled by his wife because his body was found on the floor.

But an autopsy report indicated Gatti was suspended off the ground for some three hours early July 11. A crime scene analysis found markings on the staircase column.

Gatti was found several hours later by his 23-year-old Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues.

She had been held in custody but was freed yesterday after police ruled Gatti’s death a suicide.