GUILTY PORTUGAL - Valentina Fonseca, 9, found deceased, Peniche, 7 May 2020 *father, stepmother arrested*

[Lusitana]

Unfortunately they won't be in jail long enough. I looked up sentencing on wiki and this is what it said for Portugal:

Homicide, or wilful and intentional murder (art. 131 of the Penal Code), is punishable with a prison sentence of no less than 8 years and no longer than 16 years.

Aggravated homicide (art. 132 of the Penal Code) is considered any wilful and intentional act in which death is provoked under particularly censurable or malicious circumstances, and is punishable with a prison term of no less than 12 and no longer than 25 years.

Murder (Portuguese law) - Wikipedia

Oh how nice, they can even have their criminal records fully expunged before retirement, as if it all never happened...

“...Any criminal conviction registered on the felon’s criminal record is stricken after a certain period of time, depending on the gravity of the offence. In the case of murder, this fact would be stricken from the murderer's criminal record once 15 years have elapsed from fully serving their sentence without committing any other offence.”

Whoever killed Valentina is going to get 25 years. Let's say, if the father gets 25, he's going to be almost 70 when he gets out. 15 more years would make him 85. We live long lives around here, but 85 isn't really the type of age to "start over". I don't believe any Judge would give that opportunity to a child killer anyway.

 

[bancam]

Whoever killed Valentina is going to get 25 years. Let's say, if the father gets 25, he's going to be almost 70 when he gets out. 15 more years would make him 85. We live long lives around here, but 85 isn't really the type of age to "start over". I don't believe any Judge would give that opportunity to a child killer anyway.

Agreed that it is most certainly 25 years in jail. The fact that the victim is a descendant of the alleged principal killer is alone sufficient to convict for Aggravated Homicide rather than ordinary Homicide under Portuguese law (not to mention her age/defencelessness which is yet another qualifying factor for the higher charge).

My prior comment simply conveys my dismay that legal systems (of which Portugal is just one in the world to do this) can think it appropriate under any circumstance to expunge convictions from the record for any type of murder or serious crime after a period of time. But I guess that’s a debate for the parliament not here.

 

[Lusitana]

Agreed that it is most certainly 25 years in jail. The fact that the victim is a descendant of the alleged principal killer is alone sufficient to convict for Aggravated Homicide rather than ordinary Homicide under Portuguese law (not to mention her age/defencelessness which is yet another qualifying factor for the higher charge).

My prior comment simply conveys my dismay that legal systems (of which Portugal is just one in the world to do this) can think it appropriate under any circumstance to expunge convictions from the record for any type of murder or serious crime after a period of time. But I guess that’s a debate for the parliament not here.

Unfortunately, justice is not perfect anywhere. Law isn't perfect either. Justice is served by humans and there isn't a single human that is perfect. That's what I always try to remember. They will be punished for what they did.

 

[Lusitana]

Sexual abuse and seizures in the bathtub: Valentina's father's version of the girl's death

The man said he was demanding his daughter tell him the truth about rumors that she was a victim of sexual abuse. He stated that Valentina was taking a bath and it was at that time that he pressed her and tried to force a confession. But, still in his version, she had an attack and convulsions. And died. Márcia, the stepmother, said she wasn't even in the toilet. She doesn't even confess helping her husband disposing of the child's body. Sandro states his wife did help him moving Valentina's body, but denies she participated in the homicide.

But this version is contradicted by the testimony of the stepmother's 12-year-old son. The boy, was at home when the child died, and revealed that he saw the girl entering the bathroom with both adults on wednesday and never saw her leave. Then they told him to go to bed.

 

[Lusitana]

Girl, 9, found dead in field as dad and stepmum are arrested on suspicion of murder

 

[Dre]

Wow, this just keeps getting worse and worse. I feel so badly for that 12 year old witnessing them both go in the bathroom, and now knowing what happened to his sister.
Im unsure where the sexual abuse aspect fits in, was the father trying to explain away evidence they’d find later?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

@Dre IMO there is no other explanation. Sounds like her "father" and step"mother" are heinous people.

I hope their past online activity is being highly scrutinized (sorry to say it.)

I hope no other children in the home were victims in any way. Although they all are because they had their sister stolen from them violently and must all be traumatized.

 

[Fleur-de-lis]

Wow, this just keeps getting worse and worse. I feel so badly for that 12 year old witnessing them both go in the bathroom, and now knowing what happened to his sister.
Im unsure where the sexual abuse aspect fits in, was the father trying to explain away evidence they’d find later?

As we have seen with "T-splaining," in the GS case, persons will sprinkle damning facts into their false narratives of what happened, exactly as you suspect, to explain away evidence. IMOO.

 

[Lusitana]

Wow, this just keeps getting worse and worse. I feel so badly for that 12 year old witnessing them both go in the bathroom, and now knowing what happened to his sister.
Im unsure where the sexual abuse aspect fits in, was the father trying to explain away evidence they’d find later?

I think the "I was trying to find out if the rumours of my daughter being sexually abused were true" story is nothing but a cover to explain possible signs of sexual abuse. Recent abuse, if you know what I mean. Also, I could bet my last dollar that there will be found head trauma on this poor child. The reported marks on her neck might not actually be from strangulation, she might have been held from her neck and her little head bashed into that bathtub, sorry to be graphic.
The boy is not her actual brother, he's the son of the stepmother from a previous relationship. Apparently the poor boy confided innocently to LE that he saw Valentina going into the bathroom with her father and his mother, the stepmother. So, her claims that she wasn't even in the bathroom are false.

 

[Lusitana]

MB and SB were supposed to go through a judicial interrogation today, basically, they were going in from of the judge but it was called off until tomorrow because the autopsy isn't finished yet. We should know more about what these monsters did to this poor child tomorrow.

 

[Dre]

Nervous to hear any more details. We all know what happened even if we can’t fathom this terrible abuse. Sickening.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Such a beautiful little girl. One of many many thousands of innocent children’s lives terminated by heartless and soulless self appointed executioners. Why does evil exist and persist?


The coordinator of the Judiciary Police’s Criminal Investigation Department in Leiria, Fernando Jordao, said the girl may have been killed on the day she went missing with her body being taken to the field at the end of the day.

But he added "it is clear that it happened in some context of violence" and was not accidental. Reports state the crime occurred at home.

The coordinator said he had not received information indicating that the child had been the victim of abuse by the father or that she was being tracked by the Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth.

He said Valentina normally lived with the mother but had been with her father "for some time" during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Missing girl, 9, found dead after Portugal search as dad & stepmum charged

 

[Lusitana]

Valentina's autopsy reveals severe head injuries and signs of suffocation

The autopsy on Valentina's body is complete, confirming that the cause of the girl's death was a very violent assault, contradicting the version advanced by the girl's father, who reported a fall caused by some sort of spasm. The girl was killed in a very violent manner, according to the autopsy.
The preliminary result of the autopsy on the child from Atouguia da Baleia points to a violent death, with head injuries and signs of suffocation. Although there is evidence of suffocation, the 9-year-old had injuries in several parts of the body, including the head.

 

[WeAreWatching]

Wow, this just keeps getting worse and worse. I feel so badly for that 12 year old witnessing them both go in the bathroom, and now knowing what happened to his sister.
Im unsure where the sexual abuse aspect fits in, was the father trying to explain away evidence they’d find later?

I think this is 100% why the father said that. Monster.

 

[Anirtak]

So sad that she died so violently. Glad the stepson was honest that they both went into the bathroom. He had to have heard some of it. Thank you for keeping us updated on this case.

 

[Lusitana]

Valentina was beaten and suffered for 13 hours until she died

Valentina was beaten and suffered in agony for at least 13 hours. The violent assault happened in the bathroom around 9 AM on wednesday (May 6, 2020) and the child died around 10 PM.
The preliminary results of the autopsy performed on the child confirmed that she did have some sort of spasms/convulsions, but it was caused by the trauma to the head suffered during the beat down inflicted by her own father, and not by any sort of medical episode like a epilepsy attack.
Her death was not caused by strangulation, but by a violent attack, which resulted in serious head injuries. The cause of death was a blow to the head and the manner of death was homicide.

 

[Sarahlou]

Dear God. Poor poor girl. I can't imagine the hell her mother is going through now.

 

[Lusitana]

Valentina's father and stepmother will answer the Judge's questions

Valentina Fonseca's father and stepmother, both suspected of the 9-year-old's death, chose to make statements and answer the questions from the investigating Judge (they obviously have the right to not make any statements). They will most likely stay incarcerated until the trial starts because of the severity of the crimes inflicted on the child, but that will only be confirmed tomorrow around noon.
The suspects arrived at the Court in Leiria, at 10:42 AM today. They arrived in two separate LE vehicles (I doubt they had any contact since their arrest), and a few dozen people waiting for the couple began to run to approach the suspects, shouting insults. The police had to intervene to control the situation.
They will make statements to the Judge separately.

 

[Fleur-de-lis]

May they rot, rot, rot and then burn, burn, burn in perpetuity in hell with a billion demons taking turns to torment them as they did her. MOO.

 

[Edinlass]

Utterly barbaric, I have no words