This Wednesday will be the sixth trial for the death of Jessica, a three-year-old girl who passed away last June.
There are five defendants in court: Ines Sanchez, the girl’s mother, Tita, Jessica’s nanny, Justo, Eduardo and Esmeralda, Tita’s husband and children respectively.
in a minute
Updated July 5, 2023 | 12:47
The session will resume at 14:00, questions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Judges note contradictions in Ines’ speech
The judges say they were confused by Ines’ speech and testimony that contradicted the call made to INEM.
Ines says that she never took off her hat, but during the INEM call, she said that the girl did not have enough hair.
“In the photos we have, naked in the back and not in the front, I couldn’t see with a hat on,” the judge says.
“If they threatened your children and did not live with you, did you advise who would look after your children?” the judge asks, to which Ines replies in the negative.
“So you didn’t take the threat seriously?” the judge insists, to which Ines again says no.
“Why are you looking for someone to do witchcraft if you have already threatened them? Is there an explanation for this? the referee asks, to which Ines again replies, “No.”
Jessica’s mother confirms that she gave birth to a daughter as a guarantee of payment of a debt for drugs and witchcraft.
“Then why did they return it the first time if they left it there because of a debt?” the judge asks. “I don’t know,” Inez says.
“The first debt was 100 euros. I paid 100 euros at the time, but then there was another debt due to witchcraft.”
“The first was drugs, the second was witchcraft, because I was on bad terms with Paulo and they told me they did it, so I did it.”
“They did it to tie him up so he wouldn’t leave me,” Ines tells the judge. “It was a haven for them to join me and Paulo, they gave me a bag to put under the bed.”
“They just wanted the girl to guarantee payment,” he explains.
“I didn’t have money to pay for witchcraft, it was 250, I didn’t pay anything.”
“They wanted Jessica to guarantee payment and I gave it to them, but I thought they wouldn’t hurt her.”
Ines says she doesn’t remember how long it’s been since she got the herbs and handed her daughter over: “She gave me a bag and went to pick up Jessica from home. I was paying off Jessica’s benefit.”
“Jessica’s allowance was 200 euros, but I didn’t pay everything, I always had debts because the interest kept accumulating,” notes Ines.
“Then they asked for the girl again, but the debt was paid, but they said that I should give the girl as proof of payment. I only had her allowance, I had no other income, Paulo was the one who worked.”
Ines says that she gave the girl three times for a debt of 50 euros.
“One day, Justo called me and said that the girl had broken her tablet and owed 250 euros.”
Inez assures that she never thought to go to the police.
The judge asks why she did not see the condition of the girl and why she was inactive. “I was afraid, I don’t know,” Ines replies.
Now the judge is asking Inez about how she lived on the maintenance of her daughter and how she did not know that a bottle of betadine does not cost 40 euros.
“When I called her, I asked if she had already eaten, I always called. On the day of the karaoke when I went out with Paulo, they came up to me inside and said that I had to pay the debt of Jessica’s drug addict father.” .
“Once Esmeralda recorded a threatening video to me on Whatsapp, saying that she was heading to doña Alice’s door, saying that she was going to tell Paulo everything, saying that I should pay good or bad.”
“But have you ever seen them on the street since you left the baby there?” the judge asks.
“I saw the two of them on the street alone and asked about the girl. They said Justo was at home.”
“How long has the child been in the Montez family? Since you said two days ago,” the judge asks.
“The last time he was there for five days. The second time he was there for two days,” says Ines.
The judge returns and asks Inez what the girl was wearing and what her mother took off when she was putting her to bed at home, where she arrived at about 11 am, leaving Tita’s house. Inez says that she only took off the glasses that the girl had on her face and did not take off her hat so as not to wake her up, because she was told that the girl was sleeping.
“I never thought that she was already dead, I never thought,” says the mother of the child.
The judge asks why he didn’t take off the covers since it was already summer, and Inez insists she didn’t want the girl to wake up. “I could feel her breathing, I was breathing normally,” he says.
“When I entered the room, I saw that she was upset, around 3 pm.”
Jessica’s mother did not want her partner to understand what was happening to the child
“Tita always called me. Sometimes I could not hear the phone, the sound was not too loud, it was quieter, so Paulo could not understand what was happening, ”Ines notes.
“They could have told Paulo, but I didn’t want to, he says that if he knew that the girl was there, he would go there and pull the girl out by force,” explains
“Why didn’t you tell Paulo?” the judge asks. “I don’t know, I was afraid,” says Ines.
“I always asked how the girl was doing, they said that the girl was fine, but then they called me and told me to go for the girl, and I was surprised because the debt had not yet been paid.”
“They handed me a girl in a hat, long-sleeved shirt, sunglasses, all covered, wrapped in a thin blanket. I saw part of her face, but they said that the girl had fallen off the chair, that the girl was sleeping because the girl had taken Atarax and was resting.”
The judge asks how Ines believed this excuse.
“I grabbed the girl and went home, but they always came with me in reverse, I didn’t go the usual way.” The judge confronts Ines with pictures of the places to try and figure out which route was taken.
“They left me at the door of the house. They said that when the girl wakes up, I have to give her back,” he explains.
“I went into the house and put her to bed. I put the girl on the bed, as she was wearing a hat and a blanket, I went to the kitchen to cook dinner, when I returned to the room, she was still sleeping, around 15 o’clock I returned to room because I found it odd that she slept a lot.”
“I laid her down in the room where I slept with my ex-partner”
“The girl lay down in dark glasses?” the judge asks.
“I took off his glasses and put them on the nightstand,” says Ines. “I saw that the girl was injured and that her eyes were swollen, I did not see the rest of the body, only when INEM arrived, they took off her clothes.”
The judge asks why she mentioned the flashlight to INEM, and Inez says that she didn’t use a flashlight and that she didn’t have a light bulb in her room.
“Why didn’t you go to the hospital?” the judge asks.
“It didn’t occur to me to go to the hospital, I went home and put her to bed, I didn’t feed her because she was sleeping. When the police arrived, I told Paulo because the police arrived with INEM. Paulo sees the girl the moment we called INEM.”
“The first time there was nothing in the Montes family, the second time there were marks,” says Ines.
Jessica’s mother confirms that she gave her daughter to Tita because of the child’s father’s drug debt.
Inez, Jessica’s mother, confirms that she gave her daughter to the Montez family more than once, and says she does not remember the first time she left the girl with Tita.
“She constantly called me with threats that I would give the girl away because of debts,” explains Ines.
“Debts due to drugs from the girl’s father, it was hashish, stone, cocaine,” he clarifies, saying that he bought the drug from Eduardo and Justo, Tita’s son and husband, respectively.
“They left the girl, it was a payment,” says Ines.
“Father did not work, when he did not have drugs, he became an animal. I didn’t work, then I went to the fish store nearby,” he explains.
The judge asks why there were no threats to the buyer, Jessica’s father, and Inez replies that “once” the girl’s father was threatened at the door of the house.
“I said that it had nothing to do with it, but they didn’t let me go. I even went to karaoke with Paulo and was warned that I had to pay,” explains the girl’s mother.
“I don’t know what Jessica has to do with this. Either I paid good or bad, that’s what they said. They said they killed my family and my children,” he says.
The judge asks why Inez never asked GNR and SP for help. “I don’t know, I was scared! I know I shouldn’t have done this, I’m so sorry,” she says.
“I never thought they would harm my daughter,” he admits.
“How did this fear go beyond transferring your daughter?” the judge asks, to which Inez replies that the girl wanted to “play with Esmerladina”: “I first gave her to play with Esmeraldina, she was the same age as and my daughter.”
The judge urges Ines to tell the truth, reminding her that she can remain silent.
“Justo called me and said that the girl had fallen.
“I went there to take 40 euros for her to buy betadine to go to the pharmacy because the girl fell. I stayed at the door, Justo did not let me go to the girl, he took the money and did not let me through,” he says.
“I asked if I could see my daughter and they said I had to pay. The debt already amounted to 500 euros with interest, the interest rate was 50 euros per day,” says Ines.
“It was she who told me that the girl rolled her tongue on the phone, she said that when the girl fell from her chair, she began to roll her tongue. She told me this on Sunday, the day before the girl died,” shows the mother of the child.
“I was at home when they called me, on this call they asked me for money. I went to see them in a hurry because they called me because the girl fell off her chair. I wanted to go up to my daughter and see how she was in order to save her.”
“I knocked hard on the door, Justo opened the door. She said that the girl was rolling her tongue, they put a spoon so that she would not roll her tongue, ”says Ines, excited.
“It was Tita who spoke to me on the phone. She just said: “I want 40 euros to go to the pharmacy to buy betadine,” he says.
“The girl was on Tita’s lap with a blanket, I didn’t see if she shook her tongue, they didn’t let me near her.”
“Then suddenly two guys showed up because they were selling drugs there, they asked for 5 euros of hashish, and Justo threw me out on the street. Then I went home.”
“What did you do at home?” the judge asks, to which Inez replies that she was at home on the couch.
“I never saw my daughter roll her tongue, I didn’t know if it was true or false. I called the girl, but she said that the girl was sleeping. in the house of Tita and Justo.
“She woke up from the noise and woke up if we called, it was strange that she did not answer,” emphasizes the mother of the child, and the judge insists on understanding the “tape”.
“What were you afraid of without contacting the police?” the magistrate insists.
“I was afraid that the girl would be killed, I was afraid to go to the police, I know that I made a mistake,” says Ines.
“I’m afraid of their family, yes, my mother is tired of threats”
“Were you afraid for yourself?” the judge asks. Inez replies: “Yes. She already had a bruise before and it was the same story that the girl fell off her chair. At that time, I took a picture of the girl’s face to show it to PJ later, ”says Ines. .
“Then why didn’t you show it?” the judge asks.
“I don’t know, I can’t say! I showed it to a girl in a cafe,” explains Ines. And he continues: “Because she is a friend of GNR, she could warn and help, if I spoke, everything would be different.”
“It would be better, it would be normal if it was Ines,” says the judge.
The judge again asks if Inez thinks it’s strange that he was told that his daughter rolls her tongue, to which Inez replies that her mother has epilepsy and the girl never had it.
Author: Catarina Cascarrigno This Deborah Carvalho
Source: CM Jornal

I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.