The information was provided to Lusa by Alexandre Guerreiro, the victim’s lawyer, after being notified of the instructional decision made by the Sintra Criminal Instruction Court, which decided to take the defendant to trial.
In November 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office accused José Castelo Branco of domestic violence for “physically and verbally assaulting” his wife, Betty Grafstein, since the start of their marriage in 1996.
The defendant requested the opening of an investigation, an optional stage aiming for a Criminal Instruction Judge to decide if the trial proceeds and under what terms. The Sintra Criminal Instruction Court ruled for the defendant to stand trial on charges aligned with the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s accusations.
The socialite missed the instructional debate on September 5th, as he was still in New York (USA).
The Public Prosecutor’s Office asserts that “the defendant forced the victim to wear clothes he chose, be made up by him, and wear shoes that caused her pain.”
The defendant and the victim had been married since November 1996, with the defendant being accused of “physically and verbally assaulting the victim since the beginning of the marriage,” according to the indictment.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office adds that “the actions continued until May 2024, when the victim was hospitalized following a push allegedly administered by the defendant.”
“Through the described conduct, the 61-year-old defendant acted with the intent of mistreating the 95-year-old victim, causing physical and mental harm, insulting, and intimidating her, fully aware of her status as his wife and her age,” states the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
José Castelo Branco is set to be tried for domestic violence.
According to various reports, the complaint about this public crime was sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office by medical professionals at CUF Hospital in Cascais, where Betty Grafstein was hospitalized with a fractured femur and injuries to her left arm. She reported the incidents to the healthcare professionals, alleging her husband had pushed her.
José Castelo Branco has consistently denied any assault, stating that the domestic violence allegations against his wife, whom he has been married to for nearly 30 years, “are ridiculous.”
