[kellyhound]

Four former policemen who stood accused of failing to prevent the murder of Brazilian businessman Paulo Cesar Farias and his girlfriend have been cleared of the charges.

The four officers worked as Mr Farias's bodyguards at the time of his killing.

The couple were found shot dead in their room on 23 June 1996 in Alagoas state, in north-eastern Brazil.

The death of Mr Farias and his partner, Suzana Marcolino, is considered one of Brazil's most famous murder mysteries.

'Crime of passion'
Mr Farias, 50, was the treasurer for the political campaign of then-President Fernando Collor de Melo.

He was suspected of being a key figure in the corruption scheme which forced Mr Collor to resign in 1992.

When he was found shot dead in his bed next to Suzana Marcolino, 28, who had also been killed by a bullet, most people assumed Mr Farias had been silenced.

But the forensic report at the time concluded Mr Farias had been shot by Ms Marcolino in a crime of passion.

The report said Ms Marcolino had pulled the trigger and then killed herself.

But with speculation continuing to run rife, the bodies were exhumed in 1999.

Absolved
Forensic experts said they could not rule out that Ms Marcolino had committed suicide, but neither could they rule out murder, with some evidence pointing to the latter.

The role of the four bodyguards has also been the subject of much speculation.

Two of the four men were on guard the night of the shooting, and prosecutors had argued they had turned a blind eye to the crime.

But in a four-to-three ruling the jury decided to absolve all four of them.

"The jurors understand that the accused Adeildo [Costa dos Santos] and Jose Geraldo had the obligation of protecting their [PC Farias's and Suzana Marcolino's] lives, but the jurors decided to show clemency and absolve them," Judge Mauricio Breda explained.

Judge Breda said the decision to grant clemency was rare, but within the remit of the jurors.

The jurors also ruled that the death of the couple had been a double homicide, adding new fuel to what local media call "Brazil's most famous murder mystery".

The judge said the prosecution had five days to appeal against the ruling.

More:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Cesar_Farias

Chronology of the case

June 23, 1996

PC Farias and Suzana Marcolino are found dead on the bed in the master bedroom of the ex-treasurer's luxurious beach house in the Guaxuma neighborhood of Maceió

August 1996

Report by coroner Badan Palhares, from Unicamp (State University of Campinas), states that the PC murder was committed by Suzana, who subsequently committed suicide


April 1997

Coroner George Sanguinetti disputes the official version and presents a new report pointing to double homicide. MP reopens the case and calls for new investigation

May 1999

A new Unicamp report points out an error in Suzana's height measurements and makes the suicide thesis unfeasible

November 1999

Brother of PC, then deputy Augusto Farias is indicted as the intellectual author of the crime. PMs and four other people in the house are identified as perpetrators and co-authors of the crime

April 2011

Justice Joaquim Barbosa, of the Supreme Court, denies the defense's last appeal contesting the complaint and orders Alagoas to judge the house's security guards

May 2013

In five days, popular jury recognizes thesis of double homicide, but acquits police for clemency

December 2018

Alagoas TJ denies MP's appeal to annul popular jury

April 2019

Judge John Silas da Silva determines compliance with the acquittal sentence and closing the case

The accused's lawyer, José Fragoso, told UOL that the TJ-AL's decision ended a torment that accompanied the four soldiers for more than two decades.

"This decision represents the end of the ordeal of a serious injustice, of an accusation that has always been unreasonable. It ends an unrelenting persecution of four people who have nothing to do with this episode, who were involved for working for Paulo César Farias and being [on site] on the day, "he says.

During the military's trial, PC Farias's family also said they believed in the innocence of the four defendants. Brother Augusto Farias said he was sure of their innocence and criticized the press for the way he publicized the case.

PC's daughter Ingrid Farias said the security guards were "family trusted" people.

[soja]

I love the exhumation posts. so interesting.

why did you not post this in the death section? surely it would qualify, right?

[LuckiiDevil21]

What did he keep pulling out of there?