Missing YouTuber Carlos Medeiros Found Dead, Buried in Friend's Backyard

The body of missing Brazilian YouTube star Carlos Henrique Medeiros has been found buried in his childhood friend's backyard in São Paulo, Brazil. Medeiros, a 26-year-old influencer who boasted close to 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, was reported missing after he was last seen on Christmas Day at a fireworks show, prompting a search that spanned hospitals and woods. 

However, the search for Medeiros came to a tragic end on New Year's Eve when someone who was part of the search efforts "saw a mound of dirt in the house of this couple," his sister Cristiane Aparecida Medeiros told JAM Press, per the New York Post. "They went in and saw my brother's T-shirt showing in the dirt. They called the police, who went there and found him buried," Cristiane said.

Carlos Medeiros, youtuber que estava desaparecido desde o Natal, foi encontrado morto no quintal da casa de um casal de amigos.

Segundo o delegado, o casal contou que o amigo teve uma parada cardíaca e, sem saber o que fazer, foi decidido enterrar o corpo no quintal da casa. O… pic.twitter.com/BR4jCNmuna

— PAN (@forumpandlr) January 1, 2024

At this time, Medeiros's cause and manner of death are unknown. The couple who owns the home – Renan José, 28, and Caroline Mello, 24, who is pregnant – initially said that Medeiros left their home after dinner, according to Brazilian news outlet G1, per the Daily Mail. As search efforts to locate Medeiros began, they made social media posts asking the public for help finding Medeiros. After a resident noticed that dirt near the home had been shoveled and found the clothes Medeiros was last seen wearing inside the residence, the couple told the Civil Police that Medeiros had taken cocaine and suffered a heart attack. They said they didn't call an ambulance and instead buried him in their backyard because they were scared.

"The couple's version is this: They buried him because they didn't know what to do with the body," Police Chief Luís Roberto Faria Hellmeister told JAM Press. "He allegedly had an overdose while taking Caroline's sister to have sex in the bathroom. At the moment he was having an orgasm, he felt unwell and fell dead. That's what they said."

According to a police report, Medeiros' body did not display signs of violence. However, an autopsy will determine the cause of death. Civil Police Chief Luis Faria told G1 that Medeiros's death is currently being investigated as a homicide committed by an unknown perpetrator. The couple turned themselves in to authorities in Itapecerica da Serra, outside of São Paulo, on Sunday. According to Faria, "If the report shows that his death was accidental, the couple will be charged with the crime of concealing a corpse. If it is proven that he was murdered, the man and the woman will be charged with homicide."

Medeiros was a YouTube star who had more than 1.75 million subscribers on YouTube and 86,800 Instagram followers. He was known for sharing videos of jokes and pranks, though he had stopped creating content following the death of his father in 2023.