Marielle Franco: new suspect arrested over killing of Rio city councillor

Brazil federal police say Maxwell Simoes Correa helped plan 2018 assassination; two former police officers are already awaiting trial

Brazilian police have arrested a new suspect over the killing of the Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco, the first major development for some years in a murder case that shocked Brazil and prompted international outcry.

Franco, an outspoken defender of marginalised populations, was killed with her driver Anderson Gomes in a drive-by shooting in March 2018. Two former police officers accused of carrying out the murders were arrested a year later - but they are yet to stand trial by jury and an investigation into who ordered the assassination has dragged on slowly ever since.