The trial continued this afternoon at the São João Novo Court in Porto, as Tiago, one of the defendants, took the stand and admitted to the allegations against him. He apologized to the 87-year-old man he assaulted, who sustained “serious” injuries.
The prosecution argued that the three defendants, “in coordination and intent,” devised a plan to rob the home of the elderly couple in the Porto municipality. Madalena, one of the accused, allegedly made a copy of the house key while employed there before being dismissed.
All three face charges of aggravated robbery in co-authorship. The woman is also accused of theft, and the two male defendants, aged 24 and 21, who are in preventive custody, are accused of misuse of a guarantee card.
The indictment states that on March 11, 2024, Tiago and Gilberto, using the building and apartment keys, entered the residence to steal money and valuables, even resorting to violence if necessary towards the occupants.
The defendant explained, “She approached me and mentioned a large sum, 20,000 euros plus some items. I was involved with bad influences and needed money, so I agreed… then I contacted Gilberto.”
He continued to testify by saying, “I explained that we were going to the home of an elderly couple to carry out the robbery. The other defendant agreed, and we proceeded. Madalena stayed outside to avoid recognition.” This contradicted Gilberto’s testimony, in which he initially claimed ignorance of their intent.
However, in today’s session, Gilberto changed his account: “I said I didn’t know what we were doing because I was nervous, but I actually knew we were planning a robbery orchestrated by the two of us.”
Tiago admitted that they thought the task would be “easy” and acknowledged the potential for threatening the elderly: “Both of us entered, and when the gentleman noticed us, I grabbed him and pushed him into a room. He began to shout, and in panic, I punched him. He fell, hit his head, and lost consciousness.”
“I saw that he had a pulse and felt relieved… but I did not attend to him because the goal was to empty the safe… then I looked for the keys and only stopped when Gilberto found the money,” he recounted.
When confronted with Gilberto’s statement that Tiago delivered “several punches” to the elderly man, Tiago refuted this claim, saying it was “impossible,” adding that he regrets that one punch the most.
Tiago also confessed to using one of the cards found in the house to purchase cigarettes and dinner from a grill, but he asserted he could not recall what happened to the cards, opposing the accounts of Gilberto and Madalena, who said the cards remained with him.
This afternoon, the victim testified, saying he endured “a severe beating” that caused him to suffer “a difficult time,” adding that he does not clearly remember the incident.
“I only know I was beaten until I lost consciousness. It wasn’t just one punch, not at all,” the victim noted, explaining that before losing consciousness, he saw one of the defendants assaulting him while the other watched.
The indictment reports that the elderly man required medical treatment for “front face trauma, bleeding in the oral cavity, subdural hemorrhage with tongue laceration, requiring a two-day hospital stay where he received several treatments, medical examinations, medication, hemostatic suture, and assessments by neuro, ENT, neurology, maxillofacial surgery, and dentistry specialists.”
The trial is set to continue on March 31.
