Fabio Guerra’s mother in tears shows pain in court

Elsa Guerra was always in tears. The mother of Fabio, a young police officer who was brutally murdered in front of the Mome nightclub last March, appeared in court on Tuesday, but her testimony ended minutes later.

Always without a voice, Elsa could barely speak. He never once looked at the defendants—two former Marines suspected of killing his son—and only responded to a claim for civil compensation. She then went to sit in the courtroom next to her husband and daughter, who often hugged her for support. Elsa was devastated, and the sobs she tried to swallow when she heard the description of what happened to Fabio – “I saw Claudio hit him several times until he fell unconscious,” the witness said – were audible. Elsa tried unsuccessfully to stop the pain.

Her husband, António Guerra, also experienced the same suffering. All morning he was without his wife in the room – Elsa could only be present at the trial after she had been heard out – and it was the daughter who consoled him many times. He refused to leave because he wanted to see the defendants, but tears flowed when they tried to justify the aggression with a simple argument between the two groups.

Chief Justice Helena Susana often contradicted the defendants. He spoke both about the fact that the explanations were confused, and about the explanations that walked with their feet in the air, not noticing that there were people on the ground, emphasized the implausibility of speech. “So Fabio punches him in the back, then they try a rear naked choke and he doesn’t do anything? Did he turn the other cheek? asked the referee, who also insisted on knowing if Claudio had any special training in defending the boys. “In addition to military training, were you also a boxing champion?” he asked, to which the defendant replied in the affirmative.

The trial was also marked by fear of witnesses. Heard by video link, not to know where they live and not to know their personal data, showed, however, uncertainty. The first – named Claudio – even said that he did not want to show his face and the problem was solved only when the judge invited the defendants to leave the room.

Later, a witness said that while still at the disco Mome was attacked by Claudio Coimbra and Vadim Grinko, who attacked him for no apparent reason. He later confessed that he remained at the door, waiting for the aggressors to leave, to settle scores, and that he hit one of the defendants first.

Little is known about what happened next. He was immediately punched and kicked, and he fell down lifeless. He did not see the attacks on Fabio and did not witness the moment when other elements of the PSP were attacked.

Another of the witnesses heard via videoconference said he was about 20 meters away from the fight, but still heard Clovis Abreu shouting “I am the King of Montijo” in flight, the suspect said triumphantly that a year after, crime remains high. Later, the witness explained that he had never seen a group of PSP officers who called themselves police officers, but assured that he was far from the scene.

guarded
Vadim and Claudio Coimbra have been in preventive detention for more than a year, since the first court interrogation. They were the first to arrive at the Justice Campus in a cell van. They entered the courtroom in handcuffs and looked perfectly calm. The defendants were charged with a number of crimes, including qualified murder.

Six women to judge
Six women and one man will decide the fate of the defendants. Four of the six women are jurors and the rest are judges. The winged judge is a man.

Clovis Abreu agrees to surrender
Anibal Pinto is defending Clovis Abreu (who is on the run) and he was in court on Tuesday. He once again assured that the client could surrender if the prosecutor’s office set a date for his interrogation. The iron fist between the MP and the lawyer continues and Clovis Abreu has been on the run for over a year and his whereabouts are unknown.

Vadim assures that “the blows went in the air”
Vadim, a 23-year-old former marine and one of the defendants in the murder of Fabio Guerra, spoke in court. The judge began by asking him if he had taken self-defense classes. Unlike another defendant, Claudio Coimbra, he said no. “I just have above average physical fitness,” he said.

He also assured that he did not interfere in the first confrontation, still inside the Lisbon disco. He said he saw Claudio being attacked outside the disco and intervened to protect him. “But as a boxer, did I need your help?” the judge asked. He also mentioned that Claudio and Clovis, whose whereabouts remain unknown, approached one of the victims at some point to hit him on the head. However, he said the strikes were in the air. “He is clearly devastated by all this,” said José Teixeira da Mota, Vadim’s lawyer.

Police will testify this Wednesday before the accused
The various PSP agents who accompanied Fabio Guerra on the night of the attacks were put on trial, but the judges have yet to hear them.

The judge called them at the end of the hearing to apologize for the delay until this Tuesday, ensuring they would be questioned immediately. They were also attacked by a group of Claudio and Vadim and are the main witnesses of the Public Ministry. They also take on the role of victims as the suspects are accused of the qualified murder of Fabio Guerra and several attempted murders.

The six agents – five men and one woman – kept their distance from other bystanders throughout the day, and at the end some of them exchanged warm hugs with the family. They were also at the funeral of Fabio, who was honored at the moment of farewell.