There could be a new twist in a hit-and-run investigation in St. Lucie County.
Danilo Bicalho Dos Reis, 35, of Brazil was presumably hit by a car and killed Dec. 30 before 8:30 at night.
Detectives say he just moved to the area for work.
Detectives say they spoke to witnesses at the scene who told them Dos Reis was hit by a car.
But, after returning to the scene multiple times for follow up interviews with those witnesses, detectives made a key discovery: No one actually saw Dos Reis get hit by a car.
Heather Wells lives across the street from the median where Dos Reis’ body was found.
In hindsight, she now has her own doubts that he was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
“Wait there was no glass, there was no plastic from a car. There was no anything in the road that says there was an accident that happened here,” Wells said.
She said she noticed significant trauma to his head and face.
Detectives are not ruling out the fact he was hit by a car.
They say he died from blunt force trauma.
Some of his his injuries could be in line with injuries a person could sustain from getting into a fight or altercation, according to Detective Suzanne Woodward.
“There was evidence on his body that he was struck by a car. But, the evidence where he was struck by a car didn’t cause his death,” Woodward said.
Detectives have spoken with witnesses and collected surveillance footage to piece together a timeline between 8:10 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. after a 911 call.
They say he left a store around the intersection of Prima Vista Boulevard and Airoso Boulevard.
He walked down Airoso Boulevard and crosses the street several times.
There is about a 10-minute span of time where he is not seen in surveillance footage, and detectives have not found witness statements to fill in that gap.
Now, Woodward is hoping to talk to at least three people who have not come forward.
She believes they were in two cars that detectives believe stopped briefly and then left the scene.
Sheriff Ken Mascara said the vehicles were newer models. One is described as a blue, four-door car. The other was described as being a red or burgundy car.
“To be so close to home and not know anything is a really uneasy feeling,” Wells said.
If you have any information about the case, call the St. Lucie County Detective Bureau at 772-462-3230.
