The defendant, aged 19, was ordered to compensate the victim, a 27-year-old man, with 25,000 euros for non-material damages and 1,900 euros for material damages.
The local health units of the Leiria and Coimbra regions will receive approximately 28,000 euros from the young man, who is subject to house arrest with electronic monitoring.
The incident occurred on August 31, 2024, at around 06:00, when the victim and three others, including a woman, were walking to a street in the historical center of Leiria.
The woman encountered another woman she was at odds with, leading to an altercation with mutual aggression.
The victim intervened to separate them when the defendant arrived on foot, yelling.
According to the court’s decision, the men began to argue and exchange punches, during which the defendant, wielding a knife, delivered 17 slashes to various parts of the victim’s body before fleeing.
After the crime, the defendant recorded a video boasting about the incident, showcasing the knife used in the attack, and posted it online.
The victim was taken to Santo André Hospital in Leiria and later transferred to a facility in Coimbra.
The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions endangered the victim’s life, with death avoided only due to prompt medical attention.
The court asserted that the young man, with no prior criminal record, “intended to end the victim’s life,” which was averted by other circumstances.
During the trial, the defendant claimed self-defense using the knife, a justification dismissed by the judges who stated he “could have simply left the scene” instead of choosing to retaliate with deadly force, creating a “disproportionate response.”
The defendant was acquitted of a charge of attempted qualified homicide, as the court noted the absence of proven motive behind the crime.
The court also concluded that the defendant “lacks acknowledgment of the wrongful nature of his actions and thus showed no remorse.”
The post-crime video illustrated “a total lack of self-censure,” as the defendant “boasts about his actions,” prompting the court to deny a penalty reduction reserved for young offenders.
At the conclusion of the ruling, the presiding judge acknowledged the defendant’s challenging life circumstances but noted this “is not the right path.”
The judge further advised the defendant that any incarceration would provide time “to reconsider and reorient his life.”
On September 18, 2024, the Judiciary Police (PJ) announced the arrest of the then 18-year-old.
At the time, the PJ stated the victim, “seriously wounded in several vital areas of the body with a bladed weapon,” faced a life-threatening situation.
The PJ also reported that the suspect used his mobile phone to create and distribute a video online, celebrating the incident.
