The trial began today at the Judicial Court of Leiria, where the defendant denied responsibility for the crime, calling it “pure lies.”
In a confused deposition, the 59-year-old defendant stated that “it was a lie, pure lie” when discussing the facts outlined in the accusation.
The man admitted to having been with the victim three days prior, revealing an intimate relationship with the deceased. However, a cousin’s testimony contradicted this claim.
According to the relative, the deceased told her he was “very afraid” of the defendant, adding, “One day you’ll find me dead.”
The inspector from the Judicial Police in Leiria, responsible for the investigation, reported finding “gloves with the victim’s blood” hidden among weeds, which also revealed the defendant’s DNA.
It was also noted that the area of the annex where the victim was found was “disturbed,” suggesting someone had been searching for something.
Attempting to justify traces of his DNA found at the victim’s residence, the defendant claimed he used latex gloves to help arrange firewood and that he touched the victim’s trousers to turn them over and help dry them.
“He gave me money whenever I visited, but I never asked for anything. I was incapable of harming him,” he told the panel of judges, emphasizing that he hadn’t assaulted anyone.
In closing arguments, the public prosecutor stated that “DNA doesn’t lie” and no credible facts were presented to contradict the accusation.
“The question is why was a person attacked” who “could not defend themselves.” “The answer is: because [the defendant] wanted to know where the money was,” she emphasized.
The defendant’s lawyer requested that the court consider the defendant’s testimony during the trial, as he admitted knowing the victim.
The indictment, seen by a news agency, indicated that the defendant, held in pre-trial detention, knew the 75-year-old victim and was aware the victim was elderly, frail, and living alone in Maiorga.
On November 23, 2020, the suspect, who “wore gloves” to avoid leaving traces, went to the elderly person’s home, waiting for him to arrive.
Later, near the backyard annex, the defendant, “without any reason,” delivered several blows to the victim with an unidentified but “sharp-contusive” object, hitting him in various parts of the body.
The final prosecution document further stated that the defendant also tied the elderly man’s wrists and ankles with “ropes/cords, wires, and plastic bags,” and gagged him with plastic bags wrapped in duct tape, preventing him from breathing.
The detainee left the gloves he used near the annex, concealed the victim’s wallet inside a bucket with milky liquid, and hid the duct tape roll in another bucket.
The defendant abandoned the scene, leaving the elderly man bound and gagged, “in suffering and agony,” the prosecution added.
In February, the Leiria Judicial Police announced the arrest of the suspect in the Lisbon area for a homicide committed with “extreme violence and torture.”
According to a PJ statement, the crime occurred because the suspect knew the elderly man kept all his money at home. The PJ explained that “the identification of the aggressor was possible due to the technicality of conducting exams on-site and the forensic tests carried out by the PJ’s Scientific Police Laboratory.”
There was “an international coincidence” under the Prüm Treaty, collaborating with the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences and French authorities, within the framework of international cooperation.
“The suspect was already wanted by French authorities for aggravated robbery committed in 2016,” said the PJ.
