The trial of five people accused of involvement in the murder of Jessica, a three-year-old girl killed on June 20 last year, began this Monday in a Setubal court.
Among the accused are Ines Sanchez, the girl’s mother, Tita, Jessica’s nanny, Justo and Esmeralda, Tita’s husband and daughter, respectively. The three defendants are charged with felony murder, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated coercion.
Tita’s son, Eduardo Montes, as well as the other defendants, remain charged with aggravated rape and aggravated drug trafficking.
in a minute
Updated June 5, 2023 | 21:37
Jessica’s death trial has been postponed due to a court strike.
Judicial break. The session will resume at 14:30.
‘It’s all a lie’: Nanny’s husband Jessica denies selling drugs at home
The judge asks the defendant several questions, namely whether he smokes and whether his granddaughter played with lighters. Justo confirms that he smokes, but denies that his granddaughter played with lighters.
“But there were traces of lighters on Jessica,” the judge says. “I don’t know,” the defendant replies.
The judge asks where Justo kept the lighter. “In my pocket. I won’t give it to anyone,” Jessica’s nanny’s husband defends.
“If you had a lighter. How did traces of a minor appear in the lighter?” the judge insists. Justo replies, “I don’t have an answer to that.”
About syrup for children, the defendant says that he did not see anything.
Another member of the judging team asks if Justo’s wife was a nanny. Justo answers no. The defendant is asked if it was agreed that the woman would receive any value. “I don’t know,” the defendant says again.
“Did the girl always wear the same clothes?” asks a member of the judiciary. “No. She’s changed,” Justo says, who says he still doesn’t know why Jessica sleeps over at his house.
About a trip to Leiria with a minor, Justo assures that “it’s all a lie.” “I went with my wife to see my father-in-law,” Justo replies.
“Did you ever leave Setúbal in those five days?” asks a member of the judging panel. The defendant answers no.
In terms of family income, Justo reports that he received about 500 euros of the minimum income. The judge asks if he has any other source of income. The defendant denies.
As to whether he was at home when Jessica arrived, Justo also replies that he was not, also denying that he did not see the girl’s mother in those days.
“Have you heard any conversation between your wife and daughter and the girl’s mother?” the judge asks. Justo says “no” again.
“It’s all a lie,” the defendant justifies himself when asked if he ever sold drugs at home.
Justo refutes the version of Jessica’s mother.
Judge continues to look for images in the process, and Justo sticks to the story that he knows nothing.
“Did you clean the house before going to Leiria?” the judge asks. “No. Nobody cleaned the house,” Justo replies. “They say it even smelled of bleach,” insists the judge again. “No no. It was not cleaned,” Justo says.
“Wasn’t Jessica there another time?” the judge asks. The defendant denies.
The prosecutor took the floor. “If the child was there. What were their habits?” he asks. “I woke up at 8 am. I went for a walk. I had lunch at noon. And then he went out again, ”Justo replies.
The prosecutor asks if the girl will return by the end of the day and sleep at home. “Yes. I slept in the living room,” Justo replies. “Did he have a good rest with two children?” the prosecutor asks. “Yes. They were in the bedroom,” the defendant replies.
The prosecutor asks if the defendant ever went to buy anything for the girl. Justo gets flustered and starts to say that everything Inez, Jessica’s mother, said was a lie.
The judge presses the question and asks if the accused has ever seen the girl take a bath. “I was not at home”. “My wife could wash the girls, but I was not at home,” Justo explains.
“Didn’t you watch anything?” another judge asks, showing him other photos of the girl.
Justo asks if he heard any sounds at night. “No, I didn’t go!” he answers. “I don’t know. It meant nothing to me,” he says. “If I had seen it, I would have said so,” he assures.
“During this period, did the girl leave the house with her wife or daughter?” Asks the justice of the peace. “While I was at home, she did not come out. Then I don’t know,” says Justo, who also says he never saw them leave the room.
“I saw how she hit her face on the bench”: the husband of the nanny Jessica spoke about the injuries of the girl
When asked by the judge if he saw the wounded girl, the defendant says that the woman told him that Jessica had fallen from her chair. “I saw her hit her face on the bench,” he replies.
The judge refers to the fact that the child has many injuries and shows Justo photos. It is also said that traces of blood were found in the house. “I don’t know, he wasn’t there,” the defendant replies.
“But this is your house, isn’t it?” the judge asks. Justo again replies, “I don’t know.”
The judge looks through the file to find more images to confront him.
The judge eventually confronts Justo with a picture of Jessica mutilated and burned on her face. The defendant says the girl wasn’t like that when she fell off her chair.
Jessica’s nanny’s husband says he found out about the girl’s death from his wife and daughter
Justo starts intervening and realizes he didn’t know Jessica was coming home. “He slept there but spent the day outside,” he explains.
“My wife fed him. It was not like her mother who fed her only yogurt all day,” he continues.
Justo says that he only knows Jessica’s mother “by sight”.
The judge says he doesn’t understand Justo’s speech and asks him if he saw something happen to Jessica. “I have not seen anything. I have nothing to do with it,” the defendant replies.
The judge asks Justo to calm down and asks: “Jessica and her granddaughter were there. Little house, didn’t you see anything?” “Did you see the girls playing?” he asks.
It just confirms yes.
The rest of the defendants leave the room for Justo to speak.
Justo says that he only learned about Jessica’s death from his wife and daughter.
“Have you ever seen a girl without hair?” the judge asks. “I didn’t see any of that,” Justo replies.
The defendants enter the room
The defendants are already in the room. Tita, Esmeralda and Justo are present. Justo sends a kiss to his son Eduardo and his mother tries to talk to him, but he ignores her.
Jessica’s mother, Inez, enters the room.
Just crying.
It should be recalled that the defendants are the victim’s alleged nurse, Ana Pinto, known as Tita, her husband, Justo Ribeiro Montes, and her daughter, Esmeralda Pinto Montes, who are charged with murder, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated coercion.
Defendant suspected of raping Jessica tells CM he will testify in court
Eduardo Montes, one of the suspects in Jessica’s rape, assured CM that he would appear in court.
“Who should not, he should not be afraid,” guarantees.
It should be recalled that Eduardo Montes is the son of Ana Pinto, the victim’s alleged nurse, and is charged with aggravated rape and aggravated drug trafficking.
Court postponed for 2 hours due to strike of court workers
The beginning of the court session was scheduled for 9:15, but due to the strike of the court staff, it was postponed to 11:00.
Jessica’s grandma is excited in court
Author: Tanya Orange This Deborah Carvalho
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.