A new Netflix documentary looks into the story of a Brazilian TV host who ordered hitmen to kill people so he could film the crime scenes to boost ratings.
Wallace Souza, 58, was the host of crime show Canal Livre, which became the most-watched news show ever in Amazonas, a state in north-west Brazil.
It featured Souza, in a studio, preaching against rampant crime in the state and also often had exclusive footage of arrests, crime scenes and drug seizures.
One clip even showed a reporter approaching a freshly burned corpse, covering his nose with his shirt and remarking that 'it smells like barbecue'.
Souza was eventually accused of ordering murders before alerting TV crews so they could get to the scene before detectives.
Wallace Souza, 58, was the host of crime show Canal Livre, which became the most-watched news show ever in Amazonas, a state in north-west Brazil
The ex-policeman turned state senator also allegedly ran a drug smuggling ring and used his killers to eliminate his rivals.
His story will be revealed in Killer Ratings, a true crime television documentary series that was released on Netflix today.
According to the allegations against him, Souza secretly had drug dealers set on fire and even ordered gangland hits by moped riders, before 'solving' the crimes on his weekly show.
He said the allegations were absurd and that he and his son were being set up by political enemies and drug dealers under threat from his relentless crime coverage and crusading legislative probes.
Souza insisted that his news crews got to murder scenes first by using police informants and radio
