MP asks for 23 years in prison for man accused of killing and dismembering boyfriend in Kadavale

This Monday, the ministry requested a prison sentence of at least 23 years for Luis Lopes, the man accused of killing and desecrating the body of his boyfriend in Cadaval in April 2023.

Waldene Mendez, 47, was dismembered and decapitated, and his body was placed in five garbage bags, which were then dumped in the bushes more than two kilometers away. The victim had two minor children and was experiencing economic difficulties.

Luis Lopez, 51, charged with murder, desecration and concealment of a corpse, admits to dismembering Waldene but denies desecrating the corpse.

In the closing arguments of the trial in the Loures Court, the judge of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) stated that “the accused must be convicted for the commission of the facts contained in the indictment” and that he “acted callously and indifferently.” for the life of a person.” “These facts indicate the practice of a large amount of violence in the commission of these crimes, therefore the punishment that should be applied should not be less than 23 years of imprisonment.”

Defense lawyer Fatima Henriques asked that the defendant be acquitted of murder because there was no evidence that “the three blows were inflicted by the accused,” and reminded the court that he had cooperated with the judicial police in the investigation.

At the first court hearing, the defendant claimed he did not kill the man, with whom he had been in a romantic relationship for more than 10 years and with whom he began living in April 2023, explaining that he had been using drugs and had begun to “vomit”, who died at home in front of his eyes from an alleged overdose.

The man confirmed the rest of the charges, including that he dismembered the victim to get rid of the body so as not to incur criminal liability.

He also admitted that he was unable to remove the body from the house, so he decided to cut it into several parts, which he placed in black plastic bags and placed in several isolated places with the help of another person whom he did not ask to be identified.

The denial of the crime of murder contradicts the statements he made in May 2023 after his arrest, when he confessed to the judicial police and the criminal investigation judge to being the author of the crimes, showing remorse and pointing out to the SP the places where he threw the bags, reconstructing the facts.

Remember the case
According to the prosecution, the defendant and the victim, a Brazilian citizen, met in 2007, when the suspect helped him go through the legalization process in Portugal, and they had a romantic relationship since that year.

Because he was in a “weak economic situation,” the victim often asked the accused for money to support his daughters, pay off his car loan, and pay for food, threatening to end the relationship if he did not help him.

Given the pressure from the victim, as the prosecution describes, the perpetrator of the crimes “became increasingly convinced” that her boyfriend was maintaining the relationship only for economic gain, and began to distrust him, controlling his movements.

On April 26 of the same year, he refused to help him, resulting in the victim humiliating him with verbal abuse and angering him.

Contemplating the murder of his comrade, he armed himself with a sledgehammer and, while he was sleeping, dealt at least three powerful blows to the head, causing several injuries and a brain hemorrhage, and, as a result, death.

Having worked in the Kadaval morgue and having experience cutting up corpses, he dismembered the body “to make it easier to get rid of” and placed it in plastic bags.

Early in the morning of the 28th, he transported various bags in his car, scattered them in various isolated places and returned home, and also hid in a field part of the bloody mattress on which the victim had slept.

After that, he returned home and washed the car, clothes, the floor and walls of the house, furniture, knives and a saw, which he used to try to hide evidence of the crime, the document states.

The bag was discovered by people
The discovery of a bag containing a body part by members of the public on the night of May 2 alerted the judicial police, who began investigating the case and later discovered more bags.

The presence of tattoos on various parts of the body, one of which resembles the Brazilian national flag, allowed authorities to determine the victim’s nationality.

Three days after the discovery of the first bag, the SP arrested the suspect, who, after being brought to court, was awaiting trial in pre-trial detention in Lisbon Prison.

The panel of judges set the announcement of the decision for July 22.