In the early hours of August 24, 2025, the accused allegedly went to a residence in Água de Pena, a parish in the municipality of Machico on the eastern part of the island, where the victims were living, and “violently assaulted the woman in the presence of the child, who repeatedly asked the father to stop and even placed himself between his parents to protect his mother.”
A statement released today on the website of the Madeira District Prosecutor’s Office indicates that “the accused and the first victim were married since 2010 but had not lived together since the beginning of August 2025, with disputes occurring in the month leading up to their separation, one of which resulted in the accused hitting the woman in the face with a mobile phone.”
The accused, a 35-year-old firefighter with the municipal brigade of Machico, has been under house arrest with electronic monitoring since October 15. Before this, he was held in pre-trial detention starting August 28, after appearing for an initial judicial interrogation.
The transition to house arrest with electronic monitoring was part of a periodic review of the coercive measures.
The assaults were recorded by security cameras in the victim’s home and widely shared on social media, taking place in the presence of the victim’s and the aggressor’s child.
The man’s defense filed a “habeas corpus” petition and appealed the coercive measure, arguing that the legal requirements for pre-trial detention were not met. However, this was denied by the Supreme Court of Justice on September 10.
The suspect, a native and resident of Machico, was arrested by the Public Security Police (PSP) on August 26, following a “warrant issued outside the act by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action – Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Madeira District.”
According to the PSP, the man was identified after the domestic violence victim, a 34-year-old woman, contacted the police via 112, leading to the case being referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
