A man was arrested on Wednesday for repeatedly threatening and insulting his mother, at one point even threatening her with a hammer. The 59-year-old has been placed in preventive detention.
The Metropolitan Command of Lisbon of the Public Security Police (Cometlis) explained in a statement that the situation of domestic violence against the 77-year-old woman had been ongoing for some time. The arrest of the suspect followed a report by a family member due to an “aggravated” situation.
“Due to substance dependency, the suspect’s behavior has intensified, constantly coercing his mother to give him money. On these occasions, he would grab her by the arms and shake her forcefully until obtaining the desired amount,” Cometlis stated.
Authorities stated that upon the mother’s refusal to give money, the son would insult her with the clear intent of affecting her human dignity. If they were on the street, he would follow her with death threats to force her to go to an ATM.
Cometlis noted that the victim, fearing for her life and physical integrity, moved out of her residence and stayed elsewhere with her partner, without the suspect’s knowledge. However, there was an occasion when the suspect ‘lay in wait’ for her at the house she had left.
“When the victim went to her residence to retrieve essential goods, the suspect appeared, demanded money, insulted her, and threatened to kill her and her partner with a hammer,” the statement read.
The report further explained that on the same day the threats occurred near the victim’s residence, the aggressor confronted her again: “That same day, when the victim was at the Municipal Market of Cascais with her daughter, partner, and granddaughter, who is pregnant, the suspect appeared and again demanded money from the victim, insulting her publicly and threatening to kill her with a chair.”
Preventive detention was ordered after the suspect underwent a first judicial interrogation on Wednesday.
