A few prisons in Brazil have turned into legends. Tremembé is one of them. Located in the interior of São Paulo, the Dr. José Augusto César Salgado Penitentiary — better known as Tremembé II — began as a modest, disciplined facility surrounded by trees and quiet streets. Today, it stands as a symbol of a country fascinated by its own monsters. The nickname “the prison of the famous” was born almost by accident, but it stuck, as some of the most notorious criminals in Brazilian history passed through its gates. With each new headline, Tremembé stopped being just a correctional unit and became a stage — the final act in Brazil’s own tragic drama.

The Birth of a Myth

Founded in the mid-20th century, Tremembé II is part of a larger prison complex that includes male and female facilities. Over time, it began to house inmates considered “high-profile” or “at risk” — people whose crimes had become so famous that keeping them in regular prisons was unthinkable. The structure, smaller and more controlled than most, made it ideal for protecting well-known inmates from revenge or unwanted attention.

Its notoriety grew with its inmates. Over the years, Tremembé has held Suzane von Richthofen, Daniel and Cristian Cravinhos, Elize Matsunaga, Anna Carolina Jatobá, Alexandre Nardoni, Gil Rugai, Roger Abdelmassih, Lindemberg Alves, and, more recently, Robinho. Not all were there at the same time — men and women are housed separately — but the public imagination merged them into one chilling tableau: killers, abusers, and celebrity criminals all sharing the same air, trading glances, alliances, and secrets.

The Prison of the Notorious

The fascination with these “celebrity inmates” has been morbid and enduring. Suzane von Richthofen arrived in 2006, sentenced to nearly forty years for the murder of her parents. She became, unwillingly, the face of Tremembé. Her quiet behavior, her studies, her prison work, and her relationships — including a rumored romance with Anna Carolina Jatobá — kept her constantly in the headlines. She was released in 2023 under an open regime, but her name remains shorthand for calculated evil.

A few years later, Elize Matsunaga, convicted of killing and dismembering her husband Marcos Matsunaga, joined her. The two women actually crossed paths briefly. The press painted them as rivals — two infamous murderers under the same roof — and this tension became a dramatic seed for the Prime Video series. Elize was released in 2022 after serving ten years and later appeared in her own Netflix documentary.

Still serving time in Tremembé is Anna Carolina Jatobá, convicted alongside her husband Alexandre Nardoni for the murder of her daughter, Isabella. In the men’s wing, Daniel and Cristian Cravinhos, the accomplices in the Richthofen case, spent years among other household names — Gil Rugai, Lindemberg Alves, and Roger Abdelmassih, among them.

This improbable collection of people — criminals of passion, predators, and fallen elites — turned Tremembé into a microcosm of Brazil itself: a mirror of a society that cannot look away from its own darkness. Over time, the prison stopped being a place of punishment and became a cultural symbol, endlessly reproduced in books, documentaries, and, now, television drama.

From Cell to Screen: The Birth of the Series

The Prime Video series Tremembé, directed by Vera Egito, was born from the investigative work of journalist Ulisses Campbell, author of Suzane: Assassin and Manipulator and Elize Matsunaga: The Woman Who Dismembered Her Husband. His books inspired a fictionalized adaptation that re-creates real events with dramatic freedom.

The idea was not to retell the crimes — already dissected by the media — but to show what happens after the crime: the daily life of famous inmates forced to coexist behind bars, trapped between guilt, vanity, repentance, and a constant fight for dominance. It’s a story about incarceration, yes, but also about fame, control, and the performance of remorse.

Structure and Episodes

Season 1 unfolds in five episodes of roughly fifty minutes each, each one centering on a different theme tied to real events:

1. “Trust Me” – introduces Tremembé as a living character, exploring the power dynamics, routines, and the public fascination surrounding its inmates.
2. “Till Death Do Us Part” delves into crimes of passion, mainly those of Suzane and Elize, contrasting love, manipulation, and the illusion of control.
3. “Killers on TV” – a meta-episode about how media exposure turns murderers into commodities and how fame follows them even behind bars.
4. “Reckoning” – the most intense chapter, as alliances break, rivalries peak, and moral debts come due.
5. “Justice Shall Be Done” – closes the season with reflections on punishment, redemption, and spectacle, leaving open the possibility of a sequel.

The cast includes Marina Ruy Barbosa as Suzane, Carol Garcia as Elize, Bianca Comparato as Anna Carolina Jatobá, and Felipe Simas as Daniel Cravinhos — all portraying real people whose names still provoke unease and fascination.

Reception and Debate

From the moment it was announced, Tremembé divided audiences. Many were drawn by its star-studded cast and lurid premise, while others accused it of exploiting tragedy for entertainment. Critics noted that by dramatizing such recent cases, the series risked glamorizing criminals. Supporters countered that it exposes the moral contradictions of a society obsessed with crime and celebrity.

The direction by Vera Egito earned praise for its restraint and aesthetic precision: a visual language that captures both realism and claustrophobia. The prison itself is filmed as a breathing organism — gray, suffocating, and yet disturbingly calm. The result evokes Orange Is the New Black at times, but with a tone that is unmistakably Brazilian.

What the Series Reveals — and What It Doesn’t

Beyond reenacting murders, Tremembé turns the spotlight on the paradox between punishment and performance. Prison is supposed to be a place of oblivion; the show transforms it into a narrative. By imagining encounters that may never have happened, it creates a symbolic arena for the nation’s collective memory — a country that condemns and consumes its criminals in equal measure.

There’s a haunting irony in watching these women measure their suffering, barter religion for status, and stage redemption for an invisible audience. Almost all of them are portrayed as both victims and manipulators, aware that visibility is a form of power. The viewers, meanwhile, become accomplices — judging, speculating, watching.

Where They Are Now

• Suzane von Richthofen – released in 2023, living quietly under a new identity.
• Elize Matsunaga – released in 2022, working again with animals and seeking anonymity.
• Anna Carolina Jatobá – still serving her sentence in Tremembé, with limited temporary leaves.
• Daniel Cravinhos – on semi-open regime after brief returns to custody.
• Cristian Cravinhos – alternating between parole and reincarceration due to violations.
• Alexandre Nardoni – remains imprisoned in the men’s unit.
• Roger Abdelmassih – died under house arrest in 2023.
• Lindemberg Alves – still serving time for the murder of Eloá Pimentel.
• Robinho – transferred to Tremembé II in 2025 to serve his nine-year sentence for sexual assault.

Even as new inmates arrive and others leave, Tremembé’s aura persists. Recent government announcements suggest the prison will no longer host high-profile offenders, but the myth endures: Tremembé remains the mirror in which Brazil confronts its darkest desires.

The Myth Endures

Tremembé is not merely a true-crime series; it’s a portrait of a country that consumes sin as spectacle. By merging fact and fiction, the show captures the perverse intimacy between crime, celebrity, and collective fascination.

In the end, Tremembé — the real one and its on-screen double — becomes a metaphor for Brazil itself: a place where justice, guilt, and voyeurism coexist uneasily. The gates may close, but in Tremembé, silence never lasts for long.