Judge Marco Couto handed down a four and a half year prison sentence to Bruno Fernandes, the former goalkeeper of Flamengo, on Tuesday.

Bruno was charged for the kidnapping and corporal damage to Eliza Samudio, the lover and mother of Bruno's infant child.

Along with Bruno, Luis Henrique Ferreira Roma, also known as Macarrao, received the same sentence. Macarrao is Bruno's best friend and is considered to be the one responsible for carrying out the wishes of Bruno to make Samudio disappear.

Judge Couto claimed that the evidence against the defendants was unquestionably proven. However, the body of Samudio was never found.

The decision from the court in Rio de Janeiro is the first regarding the case against Bruno and a host of other accused suspects.

A court in the state of Minas Gerais is expected to make another decision regarding the innocence of Bruno's driver Flavio Caetano de Araujo, the former girlfriend of Bruno, Dayanne Souza, the athlete's cousin Sergio Rosa Sales, the grounds keeper of Bruno's estate in Minas Gerais Elenilson Vitor da Souza, a former lover of Bruno Fernanda Gomes de Castro, friend Wemerson Marques and the alleged author of the brutal murder of Samudio, Marcos Aparecido dos Santos, also known as Bola.