A POLITICIAN and her influencer sister were held captive and brutally murdered over an innocent mistake in a family snap.
Rayane, 25, and Rithiely Alves Porto, 28, were kidnapped, tortured and stabbed to death after Brazilian gangsters thought they were from a rival group.
Jam PressRayane, 25, (left) pictured with influencer sister Rithiely Alves Porto, 28[/caption]
Jam PressRayane was an aspiring councillor in her native Brazil[/caption]
Jam PressHer sister Rithiely, meanwhile, was an influencer boasting thousands of Instagram followers[/caption]
Posing together, aspiring councillor Rayane was seen doing the sign of the horns and Rithiely was snapped with her tongue out.
The hand gesture is commonly known as the devil sign hand gesture, which led the thugs to believe the sisters belonged to a rival gang.
Rayane and Rithiely were snatched along with their brother and another man on Friday night.
They were reportedly taken to a house used as a hideout in Porto Esperidião, west of capital Brasília, before being tortured by around seven people.
One of the men, not their brother, managed to escape by jumping over a wall and directed cops to the house where both sisters were found dead.
He reported that he was kidnapped when leaving a fishing festival with three other people.
The suspects, who had identified themselves as gang members, reportedly asked them to go to a prison in the Centro neighborhood.
The Alves Portos were found with their hair chopped off and left without some of their fingers, while their brother survived and was taken straight to hospital.
He had an ear and finger cut off and was found with stab wounds to the back of his neck.
Police said there were signs of a sharp weapon being used to torture the women, suggesting they were also stabbed.
Cops are now investigating the motive and have reason to believe it may have been triggered by the innocent social media snap.
Police chief Higo Rafael said: “A preliminary theory is that the motive was this photo.
“They grabbed the victims at a riverside party, searched the girls’ phones right there at the event, and then took them to a house.
“While torturing them, they called their families, demanding £13,600 or 100,000 Brazilian Real.
Police have since made nine arrests in connection with the case.
Rayane was an aspiring councillor for Brazil‘s socially conservative Republicans party while Rithiely boasted 87,600 Instagram followers.
The 25-year-old had stood as a candidate for the local council in recent local elections.
The Republicans hope “the circumstances of this brutal crime are quickly clarified by authorities”.
The sisters came from a circus family – their dad is a circus performer and their paternal granddad was a clown.
They were buried in Glória d’Oeste on Sunday.
Jam PressThe sisters were both buried on Sunday[/caption]