During a lunch break, lawyer Falé de Carvalho, representing the widower and the victim’s two minor children, stated that in the morning session, the defendant testified before the jury and denied the charges brought against him by the Public Ministry (MP).
“[He] denied everything. He said he did not commit those acts (…) and denies that Mónica was at his house in Torreira on the 3rd,” the lawyer remarked.
The lawyer further noted that the defendant also denied being the father of the unborn child, claiming that his only relationship with the victim happened long before and that “the seven months [age of the fetus] does not correspond to him being the father.”
The defendant, previously involved romantically with the victim resulting in a pregnancy, faces charges of aggravated homicide, abortion, desecration of a corpse, unauthorized access, and acquiring counterfeit currency for circulation.
The trial, conducted with a jury (comprising three career judges and eight jurors), is being held behind closed doors, excluding the public and media, as the presiding judge ordered the exclusion of publicity from the trial and related proceedings to protect the personal dignity of the victim and other involved parties, particularly her children.
The initial session includes the interrogation of the defendant, the reproduction of his statements from the first judicial interrogation, the assistant’s statements, and the playback of testimonies recorded for future reference in the case files.
When approached, Judge Jorge Bispo, president of the Aveiro district court, announced that an information note about the session’s proceedings would be issued at the session’s end.
In addition to today’s hearing, sessions are scheduled for the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 26th, and 27th, with the first three dedicated to questioning the prosecution’s witnesses.
The fourth session is designated for producing any evidence that wasn’t established in the earlier days, while the final sessions will hear testimonies from the defense’s witnesses.
The defendant, currently under house arrest, was detained by the Judicial Police (PJ) in November 2023, over a month after the disappearance of the 33-year-old woman, who was seven months pregnant at the time.
The MP alleges that the defendant murdered the victim and her unborn child on the night of October 3, 2023, in his apartment in Torreira, to avoid acknowledging paternity and protecting his assets from potential claims.
The accusation further claims that, in the early hours of October 4 and the subsequent days, the defendant disposed of the victim’s body, transported it to an unknown location, concealed it, and has prevented its discovery to date.
