Stepmother arrested in Valpaços following death of eight-year-old girl
A 48-year-old woman was arrested by the Judicial Police, accused of killing her stepdaughter, an eight-year-old girl, by suffocation. The body was found in the Padrela mountain range.
Stepmother arrested in Valpaços following death of eight-year-old girl
An eight-year-old child was found dead on Wednesday in the Valpaços area, in the Vila Real district. The Judicial Police (PJ) arrested the girl's stepmother, a 48-year-old woman, who is considered the main person responsible for the crime.
The alert was raised by the victim's father, who went to a GNR post around 20:30 on Wednesday to report that his daughter had gone missing. The girl lived with her father and his current partner, who is now in police custody.
Inspectors from the Criminal Investigation Department in Vila Real began their enquiries that same afternoon in the locality of Carrazedo de Montenegro. Evidence quickly emerged that the child had been the victim of serious violence, with the cause of death attributed to mechanical suffocation.
The woman eventually admitted her responsibility to the investigators and revealed the exact location where she had left the body. The corpse was recovered in the early hours of Wednesday in a wooded area of the Padrela mountain range in Vila Pouca de Aguiar, near a rucksack.
The investigation suggests that the act was premeditated. The arrested woman had picked up her stepdaughter from school under the pretext of a health appointment. The girl had arrived at the school moments earlier via the regular transport service.
The circumstances that led to the crime appear to be linked to constant conflicts between the couple. The relationship had ended and resumed several times. On the previous Sunday, an argument between the suspect's son and the victim triggered a new crisis. The father had physically reprimanded his stepson and defended his daughter, which allegedly motivated his partner to act out of revenge, claiming that the man favoured his own child.
The accused will be brought before Chaves court for questioning and assessment of precautionary measures. The body was sent to the Institute of Legal Medicine for post-mortem examination.
Source: Observador
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)