In an appeal to the Lisbon Court of Appeal dated the 13th, which Lusa news agency had access to today, a re-evaluation of evidence is requested through “holding a hearing” or the preparation of a new judgment by the court of first instance.
The defense considers that “the concrete means of evidence supporting the decision are manifestly inconsistent,” with “errors in the decision on matters of fact,” and that a re-evaluation of evidence could lead to a different decision.
“No evidence was presented to attribute the death” of the other to the defendant, the defense argues, considering that the court violated the principle of presumption of innocence.
The defense suggests that sudden death may have occurred due to a combination of drug use, alcoholic beverages, and antidepressant medications, detected in the autopsy.
Therefore, the defense believes it would be important to hear from the expert responsible for the autopsy report to better clarify the cause of death, which was refused by the court.
Despite a history of mental health and health problems, the panel of judges also did not wait for the psychiatric evaluation report to decide in favor of the defendant’s accountability, the defense also alleges.
The defense further accuses the panel of judges of devaluing evidence submitted in this regard and not mitigating the conviction because the defendant cooperated with the Judiciary Police (PJ) investigations.
Thus, they add, the sentence applied is excessive for this type of crime, and the homicide charge should not be aggravated, as there was no de facto union between the two men – the victim “only sporadically related intimately with the defendant to solve his financial problems” – nor for having premeditated the crime – only after the death did the defendant fetch knives to dismember the body and acquire bags to transport it, they allege.
The defense accuses the PJ of not only influencing the autopsy results by witnessing it but also of deceiving the defendant during the investigation, leading him to “illegal self-incrimination” by subjecting him to photographic reporting of crime reconstruction according to the investigation carried out, as he was exhausted.
On July 22, the Loures Court sentenced the man to 24 years in prison, finding him guilty of the crimes of qualified homicide of his boyfriend and concealment of a corpse, as stated in the Public Prosecutor’s accusation.
According to the ruling, due to being in a “weak economic situation,” the victim frequently asked the defendant for money, threatening to end the relationship if he didn’t help.
Given the victim’s pressures, the perpetrator became convinced that his boyfriend only maintained the relationship for economic benefits and began to distrust him.
On April 26, 2023, he refused to help him, which allegedly led the victim to humiliate him with verbal offenses.
Considering killing him, the perpetrator armed himself with a mallet and, while his boyfriend slept, allegedly struck at least three strong blows to the head, causing various injuries and cerebral hemorrhage, consequently leading to death.
Having worked in the Cadaval morgue and having experience in cutting cadavers, he dismembered the body and placed it in plastic bags, transporting them on the 28th to different isolated locations.
When he returned home, he tried to conceal evidence of the crimes by washing the vehicle, clothes, floor, house walls, furniture, knives, and saw he used, and hiding part of the blood-stained mattress where the victim was sleeping in a field.
The discovery of a bag containing part of a body by locals on the night of May 2 alerted the Judiciary Police, who began investigating the case.
The existence of tattoos on various parts of the body, one of which referenced the Brazilian national flag, allowed authorities to identify the victim’s nationality and lead them to the defendant.
