João Hélio Fernandes Vieites (March 18, 2000 – February 7, 2007) was a six-year-old Brazilian boy who was murdered on February 7, 2007 by being dragged from a car for 7 km (4.3 miles) after an armed carjacking by a group of young males in Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. The callous and brutal manner in which João Hélio was murdered shocked the Brazilian public and received substantial coverage in Rio's media and throughout Brazil. The murder sparked a number of public protests demanding concrete solutions to the extreme violence plaguing the city, amendments to the constitution and penal code to increase the punishment for brutal crimes, and greater accountability placed upon adolescents who commit murder.