Where is Helena Matsunaga now?

Helena Matsunaga is the daughter of Brazilian nurse Elize Matsunaga, who murdered her husband.

Elize: Shadows of a Woman is dominating the Top 10 chart on Netflix and the crime drama film is a retelling of a harrowing true story.

The film is a dramatisation of the story of Elize Matsunaga, a wife and mother from Brazil who shot and dismembered her husband, Marcos Matsunaga, back in 2012.

Marcos had met Elize through an escort service and the pair got married, but their relationship was a turbulent one, with Elize concerned her husband was cheating on her.

After hiring a private investigator, she decided to confront Marcos, and ended up shooting him and disposing of his body.

At the time their only daughter, Helena, was just an infant and Elize has not seen or heard from her since.

After confessing to the crime, Elize was sentenced to almost 20 years in jail, which was reduced to 16 years in 2019.

Since 2022, she has been on parole and has been serving the rest of her sentence in the community under strict regulations.

While she now has some level of freedom, Elize’s biggest wish was to see her daughter Helena again, and she had penned letters to her from prison.

One letter, written just before Helena’s fifth birthday, said: “I would face anything to see your smile again. To see you at peace, to hear at least once the word ‘mother,’ so short, but which makes my heart tremble just imagining it.”

Helena, who would now be about 15 years old, is in the care of Marco’s family, who have full custody of her.

Viewers have been keen to see photos of Helena and have questioned whether she is on Instagram, but Helena has largely been kept out of the public eye.

MathiasTV echoed various reports that said Helena’s grandfather would “not prevent a reunion between the two, but only once his granddaughter turned 18 and can decide for herself”.

One of the experts on the talk show said the tragic events may “leave a mark” on Helena, who has not seen her mother since 2012.

According to The Cinemaholic, during her temporary release from prison in 2021, Elize stood by with a sign that read “My daughter, I will love you beyond life”.

Elize: Shadows of a Woman is on Netflix