A 56-year-old man was sentenced today in the Tribunal of Aveiro to 19 years and nine months in prison for allegedly murdering his 43-year-old partner by inducing her to drink sulfuric acid mixed with white wine.
During the reading of the verdict, the presiding judge stated that the jury confirmed the “essential facts of the accusation,” concluding that the defendant “acted deliberately to take the life of his partner and succeeded.”
The magistrate emphasized the crime’s execution method, noting that the method used was “particularly deceitful and treacherous,” motivated mainly by “essentially financial issues,” demonstrating a selfish disregard for human life.
The jury, comprising three professional judges and four jurors, found that the defendant mixed wine with battery acid, containing sulfuric acid, and placed it in the refrigerator for the victim to drink. He dismissed the employees immediately afterward.
The judge mentioned that this conclusion was based on corroborated indirect evidence. “The court decided there is evidence, albeit indirect, but sufficiently secure and logical, to show that the defendant made that mixture and placed it later in the refrigerator,” she said.
The magistrate explained further that a worker’s testimony was significant, as they witnessed the defendant near the cupboard where the acid was stored, and saw him later with a wine bottle, stating: “When she drinks this, it will pop.”
The judge also noted that the relationship between the defendant and the victim was marked by ongoing conflicts and harsh exchanges, contradicting the defendant’s claim of having a magnificent relationship, marred only by alcohol issues.
“That’s not what was evident here; all the witnesses said otherwise. This relationship was far from magnificent. It was deeply dysfunctional, with the man assuming control, exploiting a dependency, which is an illness,” she said.
The magistrate dismissed the defendant’s claim that his partner’s death was a suicide, noting no evidence supported this scenario.
The defendant denied any conflict with the victim regarding the establishment of a new company, but the judge noted that all testifying witnesses, including his employees, contradicted this claim.
The defendant was therefore sentenced to 19 years and nine months for a qualified homicide, having attacked his partner’s life using a particularly insidious method, but was acquitted of failing to aid the victim.
Besides the prison sentence, the defendant, currently under house arrest, was ordered to pay 190,000 euros in compensation, to be shared among the victim’s three children.
During the trial, the defendant denied the charges, claiming the woman had confessed to drinking battery water while crying and said he attempted to transport her to the hospital but she became unconscious, prompting him to call the National Institute of Medical Emergency for an ambulance.
He further claimed the woman had alcohol abuse issues, denying domestic violence. “She called GNR several times, but it was because of the wine. She became uncontrollable and didn’t know what she was doing,” he stated.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s accusation, the events occurred on May 27, 2022, at the couple’s residence in Águeda, following an argument about relocating the company’s headquarters to a property the victim had inherited, which did not please her.
The accusation stated that the defendant took sulfuric acid acquired to rejuvenate truck batteries and poured some into an already open bottle containing partially consumed white wine, then placed the bottle in the refrigerator.
Later that evening, the woman went to the refrigerator and drank the liquid inside the bottle, resulting in severe burns to her tongue, throat, esophagus, trachea, diaphragm, stomach, and intestines.
Upon returning home, the defendant found the woman “unwell” and vomiting blood but only called 112 about three hours later. The woman was transported to Águeda Hospital, where she eventually died.
