No need to torture Valentina then, the boy was right there at the home. The rumours, if they even existed, were about a friend of the child's mother. I believe he was trying to justify the horrible beatings he was giving the poor child and accuse her mother of something.
GUILTY PORTUGAL - Valentina Fonseca, 9, found deceased, Peniche, 7 May 2020 *father, stepmother arrested*
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The hell of Valentina Bernardo's death
It was after a session of torture with hot water in the bathroom, strangulation and a severe blow to the head that the child went into convulsion. The father and stepmother, instead of calling for help, left her on the couch.
Valentina's hell started a week before her death - the day she was beaten and tortured by her father with her stepmother's active collaboration. According to information collected by SÁBADO, the abuse against the 9-year-old girl actually started on May 1, because her father, Sandro Bernardo, suspected that his daughter was involved in sexual acts with schoolmates and was a victim of sexual abuse by the man she called "godfather". And he decided to force her to "confess" by beating her violently.
Days later, the process of torturing Valentina began. It was 9 AM. The investigation by the PJ of Leiria was meticulous, reaching the conclusion that as the minor didn't "confess", Sandro started throwing burning hot water at her feet, using the shower head for this purpose, the child begged him to stop and he eventually turned the water off.
However, immediately afterwards, as his daughter still didn't say what the defendant Sandro intended to hear, he started pouring very hot water, using the shower head again, over her whole body, while he slapped her in the legs and the butt (I don't know a more formal word to translate it to?), very hard, as well as using the girl’s own slipper to hit Valentina very hard. He put his hands around her neck, and choked her, causing her to have trouble breathing. All of this happened in the presence of her stepmother, Márcia, who did nothing to stop him. A strong blow to the head would turn out to be fatal. Both the father and the stepmother realized that Valentina was gravely injured but, instead of calling for medical help, they let her die on the family couch.
It was after a session of torture with hot water in the bathroom, strangulation and a severe blow to the head that the child went into convulsion. The father and stepmother, instead of calling for help, left her on the couch.
Valentina's hell started a week before her death - the day she was beaten and tortured by her father with her stepmother's active collaboration. According to information collected by SÁBADO, the abuse against the 9-year-old girl actually started on May 1, because her father, Sandro Bernardo, suspected that his daughter was involved in sexual acts with schoolmates and was a victim of sexual abuse by the man she called "godfather". And he decided to force her to "confess" by beating her violently.
Days later, the process of torturing Valentina began. It was 9 AM. The investigation by the PJ of Leiria was meticulous, reaching the conclusion that as the minor didn't "confess", Sandro started throwing burning hot water at her feet, using the shower head for this purpose, the child begged him to stop and he eventually turned the water off.
However, immediately afterwards, as his daughter still didn't say what the defendant Sandro intended to hear, he started pouring very hot water, using the shower head again, over her whole body, while he slapped her in the legs and the butt (I don't know a more formal word to translate it to?), very hard, as well as using the girl’s own slipper to hit Valentina very hard. He put his hands around her neck, and choked her, causing her to have trouble breathing. All of this happened in the presence of her stepmother, Márcia, who did nothing to stop him. A strong blow to the head would turn out to be fatal. Both the father and the stepmother realized that Valentina was gravely injured but, instead of calling for medical help, they let her die on the family couch.
Officer Dibble
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Officer Dibble
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omg this is horrific. The poor poor child.
Lynnieth
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I had no idea this case was here !
Never expected to see a case from my country here, specially because of language barriers but thank you @Lusitana for your awesome efforts on keeping everyone in the loop.
Despite language we are all human, after all, and it's impossible that a case like this wouldn't leave us all deeply saddened.
I too had the same suspicions from day one, as soon as I saw Valentina's photo with her shy smile and thumbs up, in her pink pajamas.
Still can't believe how cruel some people can be and that they can be all around us.
So sad that little angel had no one to protect her from those evil monsters...so sad that her mother has to live through this...
Fellow @Lusitana I was also not able to provide the link to the translated article (don't know how to do it), can you do your magic, please?
Found this article, that I think has not been included here yet:
"Look for help": Valentina tried to ask her stepmother for help after being beaten
According to an order to which the magazine SÁBADO had access, the girl tried to ask her stepmother for "final cry of help", when the convulsions were already attacking her body - as a result of the beatings - and her strength had almost faded.
"At that moment, defendant Márcia realized that little Valentina had her eyes open and that she was staring at her, with a 'look for help', noting that she was moving her eyes in her direction", it can be read .
But help never came. The girl was left to die on the sofa in the house. Over 13 hours of agony, she was never supported by Sandro or Márcia, who remained at home, indifferent to the girl's pain.
Never expected to see a case from my country here, specially because of language barriers but thank you @Lusitana for your awesome efforts on keeping everyone in the loop.
Despite language we are all human, after all, and it's impossible that a case like this wouldn't leave us all deeply saddened.
I too had the same suspicions from day one, as soon as I saw Valentina's photo with her shy smile and thumbs up, in her pink pajamas.
Still can't believe how cruel some people can be and that they can be all around us.
So sad that little angel had no one to protect her from those evil monsters...so sad that her mother has to live through this...
Fellow @Lusitana I was also not able to provide the link to the translated article (don't know how to do it), can you do your magic, please?
Found this article, that I think has not been included here yet:
"Look for help": Valentina tried to ask her stepmother for help after being beaten
According to an order to which the magazine SÁBADO had access, the girl tried to ask her stepmother for "final cry of help", when the convulsions were already attacking her body - as a result of the beatings - and her strength had almost faded.
"At that moment, defendant Márcia realized that little Valentina had her eyes open and that she was staring at her, with a 'look for help', noting that she was moving her eyes in her direction", it can be read .
But help never came. The girl was left to die on the sofa in the house. Over 13 hours of agony, she was never supported by Sandro or Márcia, who remained at home, indifferent to the girl's pain.
Officer Dibble
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Unbelieveable. I'm so upset reading this.
Hi, thanks for joining the thread! There you go, the translated article:
"Look for help": Valentina tried to ask her stepmother for help after being beaten
Oh yeah, the story made no sense from the beginning. I just never even imagined how horrifying this case would get and how fast it would unfold.
I always thought we would never get a child abuse case this horrible since Joana. I always thought it was just impossible to get something even just as bad or worse than what happened to Joana but, my God, I was wrong.
Lynnieth
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I think it was some kind of gut wrenching feeling I had when I saw her picture all over SM, if that makes any sense? I actually tried to distance myself from the case after reading the initial news reports
Now knowing everything that had eventually transpired just makes me so sad and disgusted.
It is true that we don't have cases like this here, we have maybe a few elderly people that disappear - usually people that are already suffering from some kind of ailment - or maybe some fights between friends/family that end up going south, and apart from Joana (I shudder just by thinking about it) and Maddie, I can't remember anything like this.
Just hoping justice is served and that we can help save future Joanas, Valentinas and all children that are helpless and defenseless at the hands of these monsters!
Sarahlou
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I think this is the case too. This crime and the details make me sick.
Valentina's father transported to the hospital after suicide attempt
Sandro Bernardo, Valentina's father, was transported this friday from the prision wing attached to the Police Station in Lisbon to the Hospital de São José after a suicide attempt.
The INEM (the portuguese version of 911) was called at around 11:05 AM.
The defendent was being quarantined for 14 days at the prision wing attached to the Police Station due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The guards found Sandro Bernardo injured and unresponsive in his cell. He broke the cell's toilet and used some of the broken pieces to cut his wrists and arms.
His wounds were serious enough that he had to undergo surgery but he is alive and expected to survive the attempt.
Sandro Bernardo, Valentina's father, was transported this friday from the prision wing attached to the Police Station in Lisbon to the Hospital de São José after a suicide attempt.
The INEM (the portuguese version of 911) was called at around 11:05 AM.
The defendent was being quarantined for 14 days at the prision wing attached to the Police Station due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The guards found Sandro Bernardo injured and unresponsive in his cell. He broke the cell's toilet and used some of the broken pieces to cut his wrists and arms.
His wounds were serious enough that he had to undergo surgery but he is alive and expected to survive the attempt.
Oh yeah, she's going to get the worse of it though. The ladies are going to give her a really hard time once she gets placed into general population. There's not a bunch of people incarcerated in Portugal for crimes against children, let alone against children that were their own blood so, they either get protection at all times or they going to get messed up with really bad.
realanastasia
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What a pathetic COWARD. Such a big man that he tortures a defenseless young child to death and then is too weak and spineless to even face the consequences.
I hope the defense isn’t going to try to use this half-*advertiser censored**ed suicide attempt as evidence that SB has some kind of mental illness and thus deserves more lenient treatment by the courts..
does Portugal have anything resembling what we colloquially call the “insanity defense” in the US?
Well, in Portugal there's something called "inimputável", which translates to "unimputable", and a unimputable is someone who "due to a psychic anomaly, is unable, at the time of the crime, to assess the illegality of said crime", which basically means that someone is unable to grasp the fact that they are committing a crime due to mental issues.
In my opinion, he has no chance of ever being considered "unimputable", these cases are VERY rare in Portugal and, usually, the unimputable statue is given to those who show previous reported mental issues. Whoever is given that statue does get institutionalized and usually stays there forever. So, between getting 25 years, which is the maximum time anyone can get, and being institutionalized for life... take your pick, I guess. But it's actually very rare that a defendent gets legally reccognized as unimputable and those who do are actually very ill.
Also, being institutionalized in a place for people who are severely mentally ill is not a walk in the park, at all. Jail is not a vacation either, but I guess you get what I'm saying.
Update. Scratch the toilet story, he actually cut himself with a razor. Why he was allowed to have one is beyond me, but okay. I guess the broken toilet thing was just people assuming because apparently that does happen a lot.
Valentina's father transported to the hospital after suicide attempt
Valentina's "brother" is in shock. The boy watched witnessed 9-year-old girl's suffering
The 12-year-old son of Valentina's stemother is suffering, his state is described as apathetic, shocked. The boy was not related by blood to the 9-year-old, but the children were very close.
He is the most important witness in the case, his testimony helped proving that the version provided by Sandro and Márcia Bernardo was absolutely false, he saw Valentina die. The boy is not speaking much about anything these days, let alone about the actual crime. He is mourning Valentina's death and receiving psychological help.
He won't have to testify again on trial, his statements will still be valid then. He is currently living with his father.
The 12-year-old son of Valentina's stemother is suffering, his state is described as apathetic, shocked. The boy was not related by blood to the 9-year-old, but the children were very close.
He is the most important witness in the case, his testimony helped proving that the version provided by Sandro and Márcia Bernardo was absolutely false, he saw Valentina die. The boy is not speaking much about anything these days, let alone about the actual crime. He is mourning Valentina's death and receiving psychological help.
He won't have to testify again on trial, his statements will still be valid then. He is currently living with his father.