On Sunday, June 26, the family of Dom Phillips said goodbye to the British journalist who died in the Amazon earlier this month alongside Brazilian native expert Bruno Pereira.
The 57-year-old's funeral was held in Niteroi, close to Rio de Janeiro, and attendees included Phillips' wife Alessandra Sampaio, siblings Sian and Gareth, and brother-in-law, Paul Sherwood.
"Today Dom will be cremated in the country he loved, his chosen home," Sampaio said.
"He was a very special person not only for defending what he believed in as a professional but also for having a huge heart and great love for humanity," she added.
Phillips' wife, Alessandra Sampaio, paid tribute to the Indigenous people about whom her husband was writing when he was killed and who led the 10-day search for the two men.
Sian disclosed that the couple intended to adopt two children from Brazil.
On June 5, Phillips and Pereira went missing in the remote Javari Valley while conducting research for a book about the trip. Phillips was a freelance journalist who had previously written for the Guardian and the Washington Post, and Pereira was a former director of remote and recently contacted tribes at the federal agency Funai.
About ten days later, Amarildo da Costa, a fisherman who had admitted to killing the victims, led Brazilian authorities to a grave in the woods where their remains were found.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the crime, including a fisherman who confessed to burying the bodies and led police to the scene.
His memorial took place two days after Pereira's funeral, which was attended by native peoples who performed songs and dances in remembrance.
Sampaio urged those attending the burial to remember Phillips' "enormous heart" and humanity.
People demonstrated outside of the cemetery where Phillips' funeral was held, holding posters that said, "Who ordered to kill Dom and Bruno?"
The police reported earlier this month that their investigation indicated that there were additional parties involved in the crime in addition to Costa, but that these parties were believed to have acted independently without any help from criminal bosses. UNIVAJA, an indigenous group, disputed such a theory.
Their murders sparked international outrage and highlighted Jair Bolsonaro's long-standing assault on Indigenous communities and the environment.
Phillips' family has stated that they will continue to follow the investigation and demand justice.
"He was killed because he tried to tell the world what was happening to the rainforest and its inhabitants," Sian said.
