It sound more like a hard-boiled mystery novel than a police investigation.
An exotic and beautiful young woman from Brazil dies in a boating accident on Lake Pontchartrain.
The man she is with survives after their boat capsizes.
The death of 28-year-old Camille Stopa is under investigation by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department.
Now her story is part of a tabloid crime television program in Brazil.
"Cidade Alerta" on the Canal Faan Network has profiled the young woman and called for action in the investigation by implying she was the victim of a crime.
Now, the man who was with her, 34-year-old Alexandre Pereira spoken exclusively to the Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.
Pereira says the two had ventured onto the lake around 3 in the afternoon and were returning home around 10pm when rough water flipped their boat.
Pereira says her death was an accident, caused by the boat capsizing in a freak storm that it the lake on the April 9th.
Both NOPD and the Coroner’s Office contend the investigation into Stopa’s death is ongoing and are refusing to release any information until the investigation is complete.
The paper reports an outlet called Record TV has obtained a recorded message Stopa sent to a friend saying Pereira had tried to kiss her, but she rejected him.
From this, Pereira claims, the media in Brazil has seized upon in the interest of headlines and not truth.
He says the kiss was nothing more than a peck on the cheek.
The Sao Paulo native was in the country visiting family in the tight knit Brazilian community of Chalmette.
Pereira is a naturalized citizen from Brazil, who has lived in the U.S. for 15-years. He runs a flooring business and is friends with Stopa's uncle, who she was staying with.
Pereira says the two went out on the boat on the 9th of April, grilled meat for lunch and hung out together.
They ventured onto the lake aboard is 28-foot boat when it was engulfed late at night by a storm with 76-mile-an-hour recorded winds.
After the boat overturned, he says he shouted for Stopa to put on a life vest and swim for it.
Riding atop the overturned boat, Pereira says he saw Stopa in the water and tried to calm her.
After another wave swamped the boat both the craft and Stopa disappeared.
He only learned Stopa passed when informed by police.
Stopa’s family friends said they’re aware that Brazilian media have been questioning whether Stopa died as a result of foul play.
Pereira says it was a tragic accident and a freak storm is to blame.