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amanda rodrigues
Arturo Gatti's wife was so consumed with jealousy that she forbade him from seeing his 3-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, the slain boxing great's ex-fiancée said Tuesday.
A sobbing Erika Rivera said Gatti was forced to cut young Sofia Bella Gatti out of his life after his wife, Amanda Rodrigues, met Rivera and the child in 2007.
"Amanda wanted to meet me, and after, she told him: 'You cannot see your daughter,'" Rivera told the Daily News from her home in New Jersey. "She was holding him back," she added. "How could you do that as a mother? Children are innocent."
"Now she's left my daughter without a daddy," Rivera said.
Gatti, 37, was murdered Friday night, choked with a purse strap by his 23-year-old wife, Brazilian police believe.
Many people in the boxer's life have described Rodrigues as jealous and overly protective.
Rivera and Gatti separated amicably, and he was involved in Sofia's life until Rodrigues came between them, Rivera said.
"I've been trying to tell Sofia that he's with the angels in the sky," she said. "I can't tell her what really happened to him."
"She remembers him coming to the house and playing with her. She sees his picture and knows it's Daddy. She says she wants to play with Papa."
Gatti continued to send the girl gifts, and Sofia called him on his birthday earlier this year.
"He felt like he screwed up with his first child, but it wasn't his fault. He wanted to do better, but she [Rodrigues] wouldn't let him," Rivera said, adding Gatti "didn't understand women," but enjoyed having attractive girls in his life.
"He did the right thing since the day she was born," said Rivera, a U.S. Army chemical engineer. "He had a trust fund and a college fund for her [Sofia]."
In Brazil, authorities released Gatti's body to his brother to be flown home to Montreal.
Brazilian police worked to strengthen their case Tuesday and said the murder was probably premeditated.
"He was very drunk and that made it easier for her," said police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva, adding Rodrigues encouraged Gatti to drink excessively so she could overpower him.
Rodrigues' lawyer asked a judge to release her client while the investigation continued. The court will rule on the matter today.
Gatti and his wife's 10-month-old son, Arturo Jr., is with Rodrigues' sister in Brazil. Gatti family members say they will fight for custody of the boy.
Arturo Gatti's wife was so consumed with jealousy that she forbade him from seeing his 3-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, the slain boxing great's ex-fiancée said Tuesday.
A sobbing Erika Rivera said Gatti was forced to cut young Sofia Bella Gatti out of his life after his wife, Amanda Rodrigues, met Rivera and the child in 2007.
"Amanda wanted to meet me, and after, she told him: 'You cannot see your daughter,'" Rivera told the Daily News from her home in New Jersey. "She was holding him back," she added. "How could you do that as a mother? Children are innocent."
"Now she's left my daughter without a daddy," Rivera said.
Gatti, 37, was murdered Friday night, choked with a purse strap by his 23-year-old wife, Brazilian police believe.
Many people in the boxer's life have described Rodrigues as jealous and overly protective.
Rivera and Gatti separated amicably, and he was involved in Sofia's life until Rodrigues came between them, Rivera said.
"I've been trying to tell Sofia that he's with the angels in the sky," she said. "I can't tell her what really happened to him."
"She remembers him coming to the house and playing with her. She sees his picture and knows it's Daddy. She says she wants to play with Papa."
Gatti continued to send the girl gifts, and Sofia called him on his birthday earlier this year.
"He felt like he screwed up with his first child, but it wasn't his fault. He wanted to do better, but she [Rodrigues] wouldn't let him," Rivera said, adding Gatti "didn't understand women," but enjoyed having attractive girls in his life.
"He did the right thing since the day she was born," said Rivera, a U.S. Army chemical engineer. "He had a trust fund and a college fund for her [Sofia]."
In Brazil, authorities released Gatti's body to his brother to be flown home to Montreal.
Brazilian police worked to strengthen their case Tuesday and said the murder was probably premeditated.
"He was very drunk and that made it easier for her," said police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva, adding Rodrigues encouraged Gatti to drink excessively so she could overpower him.
Rodrigues' lawyer asked a judge to release her client while the investigation continued. The court will rule on the matter today.
Gatti and his wife's 10-month-old son, Arturo Jr., is with Rodrigues' sister in Brazil. Gatti family members say they will fight for custody of the boy.
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