Everything we know about the case of the missing pregnant woman in Mourtos

Monica Silva, 33, seven months pregnant, disappeared that same day. October 3 2023, in Mourtos. He left the house around 9 p.m. and told his children, ages 11 and 14, that he was going to breakfast. This was the last time her family saw her. Two hours later, at 23:00, he called his eldest son and said that everything was fine and that he would return home soon, but he never returned.

Monica’s twin sister, Sarah Silva, explained that her son did not suspect anything and that the mother spoke normally during the conversation.

Next Thursday October 5The family reported Monica missing to Murtosa PNP. The sister says she always thought it was a kidnapping. On the night of her disappearance, the pregnant woman took the results of a pregnancy ultrasound with her.

The NDP began searches in Mourtos and in places that the family indicated as places that Monica liked to visit.

The case was transferred to the judicial police

A October 9On Monday, the case was under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Police (PJ) of Aveiro. Authorities began by analyzing cell phone antennas to try to understand, using the cell phone’s location, where Monica might be. For what CM It was possible to determine, according to the tracking carried out by Monica’s family, that the device was last located in Sintra.

In addition, no money was withdrawn from Monica Silva’s accounts and there was no sign of her voluntary disappearance. Monica, who was seven months pregnant, had difficulty moving.

To reconstruct the woman’s last steps, the judicial police heard on Tuesday, the same day. October 10members of the woman’s family, who named Fernando Valente, her alleged boyfriend, as a suspect.

Prime suspect

Monica Silva’s family has identified Fernando Valente as the woman’s boyfriend and the possible father of the child she was expecting. The man not only denied having a romantic relationship with the woman, but also denied that he was with her on the day of her disappearance.

“We had a very quick hookup in January, I knew her and it happened at the time, it was just one night. Apparently, I am not a father, I have this belief because of temporary problems, and because that night I took precautions due to illnesses and everything myself,” he said CM.

Alfredo Silva, the father of the pregnant woman, claims that Fernando Valente organized a meeting with Monica on the day of her disappearance, October 3. Contact will be established by telephone.

“He’s lying. We feel offended by what he said. He didn’t meet her at night, he met her during the day, in the restaurant where she worked,” says Monica’s aunt, Filomena Silva.

In addition to Fernando Valente, the judicial police interrogated another man, who is also considered the possible father of Monica’s child. Anadi’s manager also denied any physical involvement with the woman.

“I have clarified everything they asked me to do. I feel sad and uncomfortable about it because I am being exposed, but those who shouldn’t do it shouldn’t be afraid,” said the man, who claims he doesn’t understand why he was named Monica’s boyfriend and a suspect in her disappearance.

The man admitted that he had been communicating with Monica over the past few months through social networks, but ensured that they never shared details of their family life.

“It was just a physical problem, nothing more,” he assured. CM.

Judicial police examination

Aveiro Judicial Police have collected data from the mobile phones of two men named by Mónica Silva’s family as suspects in the disappearance of a seven-month pregnant woman. Initially, no evidence was found, but the officer continued to analyze the footage and try to understand whether there were other cameras in the area that could have captured the woman’s passage.

The first searches carried out by the judiciary were carried out in the swamps, wells and lands of Murtosa. At the time, the police court did not rule out the possibility that Monica had been involved in an accident on the way home.

Ten days after his disappearance, authorities began searching several homes, all of which were linked to Fernando Valente. CCTV images were collected and the mobile phones of the men named by the family as suspects were confiscated.

According to Filomena Silva, the missing woman’s aunt, Fernando Valente was seen burning alleged ultrasound scans that Monica Silva took with her on the day of her disappearance. This tip prompted authorities to investigate further.

Crime is on the rise

In a day 15th of NovemberThe judicial police searched the homes of Fernando Valente’s family, as well as the flower shop of the suspect’s mother.

The searches focused on Fernando Valente’s property in Cuba do Alentejo, a farm of about 10 hectares that, in addition to empty houses, also contains wells where Mónica’s body could have been hidden. The same thing happens in Torreira and Murtos, but the aggravating circumstance is that next to the house of the now detained businessman there is an estuary branch through which the body could have been thrown into the water. Or stuck in the mud.

After the searches, the suspect’s mother was detained by the judicial police, and Fernando Valente was detained by the authorities on the basis of a warrant signed by the Ministry of Justice. The man is suspected of qualified murder, concealment of a corpse and abortion under aggravating circumstances.

Fernando owned more than 80 thousand euros in cash and seven thousand counterfeit banknotes, funds seized from him by the police, as well as a signal pistol.

Fernando Valente’s parents were questioned but no charges were brought against them. They acquitted their son, saying that on the night the pregnant woman disappeared, they were in her company and that he went to bed first.

During the investigation, the judicial police found traces of disinfectants in Fernando’s apartment, which was thoroughly cleaned after the case was reported to the authorities. Traces of blood, possibly that of Monica Silva, were found in one of the suspects’ cars.

Fernando turned off one of his mobile phones on the night of October 3 and only turned it on again at 16:00 the next day in Vila Nova de Gaia. At the same time, the woman’s mobile phone was in Cuba. Authorities believe it was a maneuver to hide their involvement in the case.

During the interrogation, which ended November 17Monica’s ex-boyfriend could not explain to the criminal judge why he turned off his cell phone on the same day Monica Silva’s cell phone was turned off, October 3rd. Fernando Valente once again assured that he was not with Monica, swore his innocence and assured that he was not the father of the child.

A November 18th, the Aveiro criminal judge ordered his pre-trial detention. Fernando also could not explain why he was cleaning the car and there were traces of Monica inside it.

The motive for the crime was money. Monica demanded that the businessman help her raise her unborn child. Gonçalo Augusto will become the heir to the family assets of Fernando, who will not be willing to give up any amount. The murder could have happened on the discussion board.

Partners in crime

Relatives of a missing pregnant woman in Mourtos point to two new suspects. The two men, Brazilian citizens, worked with Fernando Valente and the suspect’s father. According to Monica’s family, the two were not seen again shortly after the pregnant woman disappeared. They were last seen with Fernando’s father, Manuel Valente, in one of the rooms.

Sara Silva, Monica’s sister, recently said that on the day of her disappearance, she received a ransom message from a number in Brazil. In the message, he claims that he was asked for 500 euros and was told that Monica would be kept in an abandoned barn and her life would be in danger. The woman received a photograph from behind of the blonde woman, who the family said was Monica Silva. Relatives of the missing pregnant woman believe that two Brazilians who lived in an extension to one of Fernando Valente’s houses were behind the extortion attempt.

People believed that the body was in the well

Monica’s family, already desperate for news, believed that the body might have been thrown into a well in Murtos, near the homes of Monica and Fernando. Family members went to the site on Friday, the same day. November 17and waited for the authorities to arrive.

Firefighters drained water from a well in the Ria de Aveiro area, but the new layer of water made it difficult to carry out work at night using artificial lighting.

During the searches, items of women’s clothing were discovered that Celeste, Monica’s mother, could not identify as her daughter’s belongings.

TO CMAunt Filomena Silva said the officer did not show her all the clothes collected during the search.

To ensure that Monica Silva’s body was not in the well, the family hired a private crew to drain the water, but the work took a long time to begin because it required permission from the landowner living in the Azores. Divers did not find the bodies.

Searches in Ria de Aveiro

A November 23Judicial police carried out searches in the Ria de Aveiro area. The detector signaled a metal object believed to be Monica Silva’s dental braces, found in an inaccessible and vegetation-covered area between Torreira and San Jacinto. This place is less than two kilometers from Fernando Valente’s house in Torreira.

A November 26Dozens of people went to the pine forest where the disturbed ground was discovered last Saturday and where a metal detector revealed the presence of something buried at a depth of 1.60 meters, near Torreira. Some civilians with hoes, shovels and a mini-excavator dug several holes in the hope that Monica Silva’s body would be found in one of them.

A social media movement has launched a new search for Monica Silva’s body. December 3, between Ria de Aveiro and the sea, from Torreira to São Jacinto, to Aveiro. At around 4:20 pm that same day, GNR officials responded to the site and set up a security perimeter where people discovered a bag of rotten meat.

A December 4Monica Silva’s brother, a professional diver, returned from Angola to begin an underwater search for his wife in Ponte da Varela, which connects Murtosa with Torreira. The location is two kilometers from Fernando Valente’s apartment in Torreira, where Monica is believed to have been killed.

This Tuesday 5th of DecemberNCIS went to the mouth of Aveiro, where Monica’s brother was planning to dive. Authorities arrived on the scene to check whether the diver had entered the water without permission.