Sao Paulo , Brazil ( CNN ) -- A pregnant 14-year-old raped , a grenade tossed into a crowd by robbers during a getaway . Those are just a few of the stories tucked inside Rio de Janeiro 's main newspaper , O Globo , this week . Crime and violence are chronic problems in Brazil , where the murder rate is even higher than in Mexico . Which helps explain why news of the grisly killing and beheading of a former professional football player did n't even make front-page news in many papers . Police believe that 35-year-old Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos was abducted on Monday evening . When his wife opened the door to leave for work the following morning , she found a backpack with her husband 's head inside . According to Brazilian media , Santos ' eyes and tongue had been cut out . Santos played for a number of mostly second-tier Rio de Janeiro football clubs before retiring and opening a health food store . Police refused to comment on lines of investigation , but media have speculated that it could be related to a break-in at Santos ' store this year . Some newspapers also pointed out that his wife works for the police department in one of the shantytowns that recently came under police control , although she reportedly is a social worker there . The news did , however , make headlines around the world , shining the spotlight yet again on violence in one of the host cities of the 2014 World Cup . And while World Cup tickets are selling at record rates , experts say the violent protest marches that erupted during the Confederations Cup , combined with headlines about crime and violence , might make fans think twice about bringing their families to Brazil . In April : Tourist raped on minibus in Rio . Brazilians themselves were horrified by the story , but to a certain degree , they have become accustomed to crime and violence . In Rio de Janeiro , cars drive through red lights at night . The drivers do n't stop for fear of being robbed . Brazilians rarely carry cash , using debit cards even to pay for a cup of espresso . In Sao Paulo , criminal `` sweeps '' of restaurants and bars are common . An armed gang moves through in a matter of minutes , relieving patrons of all their valuables . Despite that , murders in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro actually dropped 76 % and 44 % between 2001 and 2011 , according to the Rio-based Brazilian Center for Latin American Studies . The murder rate in Brazil as a whole has risen 132 % over the past 30 years but has dropped since reaching a peak in 2003 . 10 cops in Brazil accused of killing and hiding body .
The horrible killing of a footballer was n't even on the front page of newspapers . Crime and violence are chronic problems in Brazil . Comment: