Children of Slain U.S. Oil Exec Leave Rio for U.S.

Children of Slain U.S. Oil Exec Leave Rio for U.S.
Thu December 11, 2003 09:13 AM ET

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - The four children of an American oil executive and his wife who were murdered last month in Rio de Janeiro flew back to the United States overnight on Wednesday, heading back home to Utah.

The 3, 8, 10 and 13-year old children of Todd and Michelle Staheli were accompanied by their grandparents and three other relatives on a commercial flight to the United States, said a spokesman for Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell where the executive worked.

The children were only allowed to leave Brazil after the 13-year-old daughter gave a statement about the events of Nov. 30, when she and her brother found their wounded parents in their heavily guarded luxury home outside Rio de Janeiro.

The couple had apparently been attacked with an ax while asleep. Todd Staheli, 39, died soon after and Michelle Staheli, 34, passed away a week ago in the hospital while in a coma. (snip/...)

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3977074

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Original story:

(snip) Utah native exec killed, wife severely injured in Brazil

By Ashley Broughton
The Salt Lake Tribune

A Spanish Fork native working in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Shell Oil was slain during the weekend at his home, authorities said, and his wife, also from Utah, remained hospitalized in critical condition Monday.

Z. Todd Staheli, 39, vice president for joint ventures for Shell's Southern Cone gas and power unit, was found dead Sunday morning by one of his four children at the family's luxury, guarded condominium in Rio de Janeiro's upscale Barra da Tijuca neighborhood.

His wife, Michelle, 36, a Logan native, was found bleeding from face and head wounds. She was taken to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery. She remained on life support Monday, said Staheli's brother, Chad Staheli of Spanish Fork.

Police said the two had been struck repeatedly in the face and head with a sharp instrument, possibly a hatchet or meat cleaver. They apparently were attacked while they were sleeping, Chad Staheli said. (snip/...)

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Dec/12022003/utah/116298.asp

and more horrible that one of their children found them.

:(

it will not be the last.




:-(