Sentencing delayed for man accused of killing his wife in Gondomar

The sentencing of a man accused of murdering his wife in February 2023 in Gondomar was adjourned today after a minor change in facts was reported and the defense did not waive the plea deadline.

The insignificant change in the facts of which the defendant is accused arises from the evidence presented in court, explained this morning the president of the panel of judges of the San Joao Novo court in Porto, where the 48-year-old man is charged with qualified murder, domestic violence and aggravated coercion .

Regarding the crime of domestic violence, the group of judges, who decided to sum up small given the size of the sentence, decided to consider the circumstantial evidence contained in the case, since the 43-year-old victim died after the aggression that occurred at his workplace in Gondomar, Porto district.

For the court, it is also a significant change in the facts of the crime of aggravated coercion, since it was proven that the defendant swung a knife at the body of a company employee who came to the aid of the victim.

He also points out that both the device used by the victim and data from an electronic bracelet placed on the defendant in a domestic violence case showed that the man was hanging around the area where he was going to kill his partner. .

After a minor change in facts was briefly reported, the defendant’s lawyer told the panel of judges that he would not waive the legal deadline for the plea, delaying the announcement of the decision.

Now the lawyer has until June 20 to prepare the defendant’s defense, and the hearing will resume on June 26 at 14:00.

In May, in closing arguments, the prosecutor’s office (MP) demanded an “approximate sentence” for the defendant in pre-trial detention, emphasizing that the crime occurred against the backdrop of domestic violence.

The prosecutor then stated that on the day of the crime, a man wearing a hat entered the workplace of a woman from whom he had been separated, closed the door, slapped her in the face, causing her to fall, and with her on the floor, stabbed and kicked him in the head. and then fled the scene.

He also claimed that the man acted “premeditatedly, deliberately and without any hesitation” and that he prevented the woman from getting help from a colleague, who also threatened her with a knife.

The prosecutor also said that he did not believe the version presented at the defendant’s trial that he only wanted to wound her with a knife and not kill her, since the blow was “deep and fatal,” which negates this thesis.

In March, at the beginning of the trial, the defendant admitted that he killed his wife, but said that this was not his intention.