The tragedy received major media exposure, not only because of the murder, but also because of blatant mistakes made by the São Paulo police.
The Grupo de Ações Táticas Especiais (Special Tactical Actions Group, or GATE) closely followed the situation.
On 16 October, da Silva was eventually released by Alves, but she offered to return to the apartment, as requested by the police, to try to negotiate with the kidnapper.
[9] The tragedy was widely discussed because of the mistakes committed by São Paulo police, especially the fact that they allowed da Silva to return to the apartment.
Former BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion) member and sociologist Rodrigo Pimentel, in an interview with the Terra portal, condemned the Brazilian media's coverage, arguing that the TV stations RedeTV!, Rede Record, and Rede Globo were "irresponsible and criminal", and declared that the "Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo should hold these TV stations to account".
The MP stated that the interviews interfered with ongoing police activity and put the lives of the teenager and those involved in the operation at risk, and asked for a compensation of 1.5 million reais for collective moral damage.