The Court of Évora Relationship (THREE), admitted last day 5, the appeal filed by Fernando Belmonte's defense, the convicted individual, together with a partner, a single penalty 22 years in prison for the death and robbery of a German couple, occurred on 16 April 2023, at Quinta do Paraíso Janedi, in Baleizão, county Beja.
The defendant's patron, argues that the condemnatory ruling of the Collective of Judges of the Beja Court, “It is completely devoid of evidence, generic, unfair and rigorous”, which is why the lawyer argues that it “must be immediately annulled or reformed”, concluded.
No document, Pedro Pestana considers that during the trial “the commission of homicide crimes was not proven”, since “it was not established what the causes of the couple’s deaths were, since the examinations and autopsies were considered inconclusive, not determining the cause of deaths”, ends. In the remote hypothesis of Fernando Belmonte's conviction being maintained, the lawyer requests “a substantial mitigation of the sentence imposed”, justified.
In reading the judgment, in 3 April of this year, the president of the Collective of Judges justified that “the criminal framework for homicide crimes has become a simple, given the fact that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, that it was not possible to determine the causes of the deaths, leaving no doubt about the attacks they suffered.”, finished.
Fernando Belmonte, of 54 year old, and his companion, Monica Lourenço, of 38 year old, were sentenced to a total of 22 years of imprisonment in legal accumulation, and 14 years for each of the crimes of simple homicide and 2 years and 6 months for the crime of qualified theft.
The couple would only be detained by the PJ, in Aljustrel, about a month after the discovery of Jan Otton's bodies, of 79 years and Ilse Ediltraud, of 71 year old, inside the farmhouse they owned in the village of Baleizão.
In custody since 13 May 2023, the defendant was in the Prison Establishment (EP) of Beja until the date of the trial, currently being on the Vale de Judeus EP, chain from where, last day 7, five registered dangerous people fled
Mónica Lourenço is already serving an effective sentence of 22 years in prison.
When reading the ruling, the defendant's lawyer, justified that “the penalty is excessive given the little evidence provided during the trial. I will file an appeal”, justified. For unknown reasons, days before the deadline for submitting an appeal to the TRE, the agent renounced Mónica’s defense, no opposition was filed against the penalty imposed.
The case having become final and unappealable, the defendant already complies with the 22 years to which she was sentenced, there is nothing left for the sentence to be legally changed.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
