Man sentenced to 22 years for killing lover at school in Araçatuba (SP)
Paulo Henrique Souza Costa was convicted by the Jury Court of Araçatuba for murdering his lover to hide the relationship and steal his mobile phone.
Conviction to 22 years for homicide and theft at state school
Paulo Henrique Souza Costa was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment in a closed regime for the murder of his lover Rodrigo Aparecido Simão de Sousa and for the theft of the victim's mobile phone, a Motorola G7 Plus valued at R$ 1,000. The trial took place on Thursday (10) at the Jury Court of Araçatuba (SP), as reported by g1.globo.com.
The crime occurred in the early morning of 1 March 2020, at Ezequiel Barbosa State School, in the São José neighbourhood, in Araçatuba. According to Civil Police investigations, Paulo Henrique maintained a secret romantic relationship with Rodrigo and committed the murder out of fear that the relationship would become public.
Aggravating factors and jury decision
For the court, the prosecution's thesis was proven that the accused acted through deception and by means of a method that hindered the victim's defence. Immediately after the murder, Paulo Henrique took Rodrigo's telephone with abuse of trust and through fraud, fleeing the scene to attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the contacts maintained between the two.
The jurors accepted the prosecution's requests and convicted the defendant of aggravated homicide and aggravated theft. Judge Carlos Gustavo de Souza Miranda also determined payment of a fine and prohibited the convicted person from the right to appeal the sentence while free.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo