Australia - Cecilia Haddad, 38, found deceased 29th April 2018 *arrest in Brazil*

[tmar]

Haddad may have been married when she died
Perry Duffin
3 hrs ago

Slain Brazilian mining executive Cecilia Haddad may have still been legally married to her estranged husband when she died.
Felipe Torres has joined Ms Haddad's father in a legal battle over her estate, which the NSW Supreme Court heard on Monday could be worth more than $1.8 million.
Mr Torres lives in Perth and works in the mining industry, as did Ms Haddad. The two went to the same Brazilian university, according to their online profiles.

A lawyer representing Ms Haddad's family said a document from Brazil was being translated that could shed light on how far through the process they were.

"There are two factors which may be significant - is there a will? Nobody has found a will." Justice Lindsay said.

"The other is did the deceased die with a husband? That's something being worked out apparently.

"There may be enough for people to fight about if they were inclined to fight."

He adjourned the matter until on August 6.

Ms Haddad's father, Jose Ibrahim Haddad, in June filed a civil claim in the NSW Supreme Court to be the administrator of her estate.

Mr Torres also made an application soon after Mr Haddad's lawyer was granted "special letters of administration" on his behalf.

The pair had sought to divide assets in November 2017, including two properties in Queensland and Western Australia.

The court also heard inquiries were being made into an estimated $1.8 million in life insurance and/or superannuation and an off-the-plan unit which had been sighted on documents in Ms Haddad's belongings.

The figures have yet to be confirmed by both parties.

 

[tmar]

Estranged husband of slain Brazilian Cecilia Haddad wins estate battle
Angus Thompson
1 hour ago

The estranged husband of slain Brazilian mining executive Cecilia Haddad is entitled to the entirety of her estate.

Lawyer Shauna Barrett, who is acting for the 38-year-old mining executive's father, Jose Ibrahim Haddad, told the NSW Supreme Court on Monday afternoon that he agreed Ms Haddad and Felipe Torres were married when she died in April.

"The father concedes that the marriage between the deceased and the defendant remained in place and the husband is entitled to her estate," Ms Barrett told Justice Geoff Linsday during a brief hearing on Monday afternoon.

 

[Morrisa]

Dr Cardoso revealed Mr Santoro had “confessed” to the April murder while in custody, but he refused to respond to any official questions without a lawyer present.

The court heard he had felt “unwanted” and confessed to strangling her after an argument in their apartment, Dr Cardoso said.

Cecilia Haddad’s accused killer ‘confessed’ to killing her: reports

 

[tmar]

Dr Cardoso revealed Mr Santoro had “confessed” to the April murder while in custody, but he refused to respond to any official questions without a lawyer present.

The court heard he had felt “unwanted” and confessed to strangling her after an argument in their apartment, Dr Cardoso said.

https://www.news.com.au/national/ns...-haddad-reports/news-story/7475c97ebd6fb3e0ac

Great.
If these Creeps confess, does that mean NO TRIAL.
YIPPEE, if that is the case, as saves family years of the 'unknown'.

 

[tmar]

Cecilia KNEW her days were numbered: Mining executive 'blocked her ex boyfriend's phone number and started emailing him in English so police would know if something happened to her'

Bryant Hevesi
1 hour ago
A mining executive whose lifeless body was found floating in a river had blocked her ex-boyfriend's phone number prior to her death, a court has heard.

Mario Marcelo Santoro has been accused of killing his former girlfriend Cecilia Haddad, 38, in Sydney in late April before fleeing back to his native Brazil.

The 40-year-old faced a Brazilian court this week where it was heard Ms Haddad had resorted to only communicating with Santoro over email after blocking the number.

A witness told the court in Rio de Janeiro Ms Haddad was writing the emails just in English so Australian police could read the exchanges if something happened to her, news.com.au reported.

 

[tmar]

Bryant Hevesi
1 hour ago
.....
Judge Daniel Werneck Cotta will decide if Santoro will face a full trial on qualified homicide charges.
......

 

[tmar]

Lawyers' shock move in Sydney murder mystery
Mario Marcelo Santoro : Legal team seek to throw murder charge out
9news.com.au · 17 hours ago
....
The Brazilian legal team defending Mario Marcelo Santoro will push to have the murder charge against him thrown out of court.

Lawyer Mauricio Eduardo Mayr has spent the last few weeks pouring over the Rio de Janeiro Homicide Police case against Santoro, claiming there is no solid evidence.
...
His legal team claim he left Australia in a hurry on the same morning his ex-girlfriend was found dead because his father had "major cardiac issues" in Rio. They also say Santoro may not have foreseen that Brazilian Homicide Police would conduct their own investigation into Ms Haddad's death.
...
A pre-trial hearing in Rio yesterday heard he allegedly gave an "informal confession" during which he told police he wrapped the body in a blanket or mattress and used Ms Haddad’s car to take her body to the river.

Santoro's lawyer Mauricio Eduardo Mayr claims the confession cannot stand up in court.

He said it was during an off-the-record conversation, accusing the Rio homicide police of refusing to call a lawyer for Santoro after his arrest.
.....

 

[tmar]

Weren't Police, looking at CCTV around the area, and trying to locate car keys?
Let us hope, Santoro is on CCTV in the area, when Police estimate, body had been 'left' in water.
Also, if there is a blanket, or mattress found at site, then this adds to his confession.

 

[they'll get you]

Santoro is a lying . IMO Cecilia was his golden goose.

“Her own mother knew the way she wrote, and she already believed that Cecilia hadn’t written it,” Dr Cardoso told the judge.
Dr Cardoso said Haddad’s mother became suspicious of the messages, which didn’t sound like they had come from her daughter.
Another text was sent to one of Haddad’s Australian friends, but according to Haddad’s stepmother Andreia, the English was so bad that she took it straight to police.
“The English was so bad she took it straight to the police,” she said. “Cecilia had been in the country for years, her English was perfect.”
Cecilia Haddad’s accused killer ‘confessed’ to killing her: reports


Cecilia allowed Mario to continue living in her apartment because he had no job and needed to pay school fees for his daughters from his first marriage, the court was told.
Cecilia's stepmother, Andrea Santos Haddad, also said she was aware of threats made by Santoro.
"I got a call from Cecilia in desperation saying she could not go home because of him," she said.
Santoro's behaviour included threats and harassment, she added.
Cecilia Haddad was terrified of ex-boyfriend, father says

 

[Morrisa]

Cecelia Haddad's mother breaks down as she tells court of final phone call

The mother of murdered Brazilian Cecilia Haddad has cried in a Rio court as she told of a frantic final phone conversation with her daughter in Sydney before she disappeared.

 

[Pi Thoughts]

NSW Police will travel to Brazil to help local authorities build a brief of evidence against the man charged with murdering Cecilia Haddad in Sydney.

Police travel to Brazil over Haddad murder

 

[they'll get you]

ya gotta love our cops.

Australian detectives will travel to Brazil today as part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of Cecilia Haddad.

Detectives from NSW’s Crime Command Homicide Command are set to head to Rio de Janeiro, where they will work with local law enforcement to develop a brief of evidence surrounding the alleged murder of Sydney businesswoman Cecilia Haddad.

It follows the arrest of Haddad’s ex-boyfriend Mario Marcelo Santoro, 40, by Rio de Janeiro police back in July.

The arrest was the result of a warrant application by Australian detectives, who spent two months in the wake of Haddad’s death in late April building a case.

NSW and Brazil police team up for Haddad murder investigation

 

[Bohemian]

Cecilia Haddad's mother 'heard screams' on chilling final call

 

[Bohemian]

A little about how police tracked the POI in Cecilia’s case in this article:

‘The use of dashcam footage in cars, which is becoming common technology, has become a particular focus for police.

Not only is it helping solve the more obvious traffic-related offences, it is helping to crack murder cases.

"We are specifically seeking CCTV or dashcam footage," NSW Police said in June during an investigation into the suspected murder of Brazilian national Cecilia Haddad.

As the investigation continued, a witness came forward to tell police he saw the main suspect throw a set of keys — later identified as Ms Haddad's — into Sydney Harbour.

It is understood dashcam and CCTV footage was then used to corroborate the story.’

Dashcams, fitness trackers and smartphone cameras changing the game for police investigating serious crimes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[Pi Thoughts]

Accused murderer Mario Marcelo Santoro has spoken in court for the first time, explaining his reasons for returning to Brazil earlier than planned and accusing his ex-girlfriend of heavy drinking and drug use.
Mr Santoro, who is accused of killing and attempting to conceal the body of ex-girlfriend Sydney businesswoman Cecilia Haddad, 38, in April, appeared in the Rio De Janiero Central Court of Justice today (local time).
During the hearing, Mr Santoro was asked by his lawyers why he returned to Brazil earlier than planned. Mr Santoro responded by saying he missed his daughters and that his father’s health was deteriorating.

Cecilia Haddad: Brazilian man accused tells court she ‘used a lot of drugs’

 

[Pi Thoughts]

Given the absence of an extradition treaty between Brazil and Australia, Rio police decided to charge Mr Santoro under Brazilian extraterritoriality laws.
Mr Santoro is accused of committing “femicide”, a category of murder introduced in 2015 to defend victims of domestic violence. Femicide carries harsher than standard sentences.
Mr Santoro was also charged with attempting to conceal Ms Haddad’s body.
Cecilia Haddad: Brazilian man accused tells court she ‘used a lot of drugs’

 

[tmar]

Given the absence of an extradition treaty between Brazil and Australia, Rio police decided to charge Mr Santoro under Brazilian extraterritoriality laws.
Mr Santoro is accused of committing “femicide”, a category of murder introduced in 2015 to defend victims of domestic violence. Femicide carries harsher than standard sentences.
Mr Santoro was also charged with attempting to conceal Ms Haddad’s body.
Cecilia Haddad: Brazilian man accused tells court she ‘used a lot of drugs’

In the last line, it states SHE used a lot of drugs.
Is this an error?

Man accused Aussie ex murder tells Brazil court he ‘used a lot of drugs’
Alexis Daish
2 hrs ago

Accused murderer Mario Marcelo Santoro has spoken in court for the first time, explaining his reasons for returning to Brazil earlier than planned and admitting to heavy drinking and drug use.
Mr Santoro, who is accused of killing and attempting to conceal the body of ex-girlfriend Sydney businesswoman Cecilia Haddad, 38, in April, appeared in the Rio De Janiero Central Court of Justice today (local time).

During the hearing, Mr Santoro was asked by his lawyers why he returned to Brazil earlier than planned. Mr Santoro responded by saying he missed his daughters and that his father’s health was deteriorating.
Lawyers also asked why Ms Haddad was sleeping out of her Sydney home – which she was sharing with Mr Santoro at the time – on weekdays prior to her death. Mr Santoro said it was because she had a job 100 kilometres away.

Mr Santoro told the court he previously consumed a lot of alcohol and used drugs in Brazil.

The 41-year-old, who appeared wearing scruffy jeans, sneakers and a white t-shirt, appeared nervous while speaking with his defence lawyers.

He remained in handcuffs throughout the hearing, even as he signed a transcript of his testimony.

 

[Pi Thoughts]

Tmar, the article actually says Santoro states both drank and used drugs. Either poor reporting or he’s storytelling.
............
“Accused murderer Mario Marcelo Santoro has spoken in court for the first time, explaining his reasons for returning to Brazil earlier than planned and admitting to heavy drinking and drug use.”

and

“Mr Santoro told the court Haddad consumed a lot of alcohol and used drugs when she was in Brazil.”
Cecilia Haddad: Brazilian man accused tells court she ‘used a lot of drugs’

 

[they'll get you]

Ms Haddad, a 38-year-old former mining executive originally from Brazil, had previously dated Mr Santoro, 41.
The pair attended university together in Brazil and been friends for 10 years.

But a year into their relationship, Mr Haddad had been forced to break things off with the allegedly abusive mining engineer.

Ms Haddad’s friend Rita Maciel would later testify that after Ms Haddad kicked Mr Santoro out of her apartment and he began following her in his car.

She claims Ms Haddad consequently was reduced to a state of “total panic”, too “afraid to go out”.

A 'lifetime of grief' awaits family of Cecilia Haddad

 

[tmar]

'The family's grief will last a lifetime'

Ehsan Knopf
5 hrs ago

On April 28, Mario Marcelo Santoro allegedly appeared at the door of Cecilia Haddad’s apartment in Ryde, Sydney, “banging like someone was trying to break in”.

“Open up, I want to talk to you,” Ms Haddad’s mother Milu Muller recalls overhearing him scream while she was on a call with her daughter.

“What is that guy doing there?” Mrs Muller asked.
She was so alarmed by Mr Santoro’s alleged appearance at Ms Haddad’s door, she urged her daughter to call the police.

Ms Haddad assured Mrs Muller she was fine and planned to meet a friend for lunch.

“As soon as you get with your friend for lunch, text me," Mrs Muller replied.

But Ms Haddad never did, and a day later she was found floating in Lane Cove River.

9News reporter Lizzie Pearl spoke to Mrs Muller after she delivered her emotional testimony in a Brazilian court. Pearl recalls Mrs Miller was “emotional, shaking and crying, but determined”.

“What became abundantly clear is just how close this family is and the deep impact the death of their beloved Cecilia has had,” she said.

“A year ago, they were normal people living normal lives. They didn’t ask for any of this, but they’re doing the best they can with patience and grace.

“Their grief will last a lifetime.”