Terrified woman left by police to be stabbed to death in Setúbal

Posted by portugalpress on January 23, 2015


Terrified woman left by police to be stabbed to death in Setúbal


A 52-year-old mother-of-two has been brutally stabbed to death in her own home, hours after she appealed to police to protect her.

The story of Maria Cremilde Pinheiro’s last hours has shocked a nation that is assailed almost by the day by horrific cases of domestic violence.

In a week when headlines proclaimed that star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo wanted “a woman that respects him”, the tragedy of what can happen to women who try to leave their husbands in Portugal has once again come into sharp focus.

Ironically, Maria Cremilde Pinheiro (known as Mimi) was a former classmate of football coach José Mourinho.

According to stories in the Portuguese media today, Mimi ran terrified to her local police station in Setúbal on Wednesday night, complaining of her husband’s aggression.

João Pinheiro, also 52, is understood to have attacked her during an argument over the couple’s pending divorce.

After lodging an official complaint at the police station in Avenida Luísa Todi, Mimi returned to the family’s apartment in Rua Engenheiro Henri Perron at 2.30am, accompanied by police who are understood to have “evaluated the situation as being of low risk”.

João Pinheiro was understood to be in the apartment and “waiting for his wife”. The police then left and, according to reports, half-an-hour later Maria Cremilda was killed from multiple stab wounds.

It was her son who found his mother’s body and, once again, made the trip to the local police station.

This time agents returned to find João Pinheiro with a knife in his hands.

The former employee of the national bank of Angola had apparently self-inflicted a number of wounds and had to be restrained.

He was removed from the apartment at 4.45am and taken to Setúbal Hospital for treatment.

Meantime, INEM emergency services have been talking about the delicate moments inside the apartment when they had to negotiate with Pinheiro to give up his weapon.

The knife, believed to have been the murder weapon, is now in the hands of the authorities.

As tributes fill “Mimi’s” Facebook page, Setúbal’s PSP has been justifying the reasons why agents went no further to protect her.

According to a statement put out in the press, the “fact that there had not been antecedents, that this was the first complaint and that the victim had shown willingness to return to the apartment” led to the fateful “low risk” evaluation.

Maria Cremilda’s killing brings the number of deaths due to domestic violence already this month to two.

Last year 40 women died at the hands of their partners, former lovers or furious men powered by jealousy.

As victims support group Projecto Criar told the Resident last year (see http://portugalresident.com/sleeping-with-the-enemy), “the way domestic violence is dealt with is key.

“To give you an example, it took one woman six visits to the police station before anyone took her complaints seriously.

“The last time, she was barefoot and in her pyjamas. It was only then that the police took any notice of what she was saying. She had taken huge risks each time going to make complaints against her husband, and five of those times no-one had helped her.”

Tragically, Maria Cremilda Pinheiro seems only to have had one chance, and police blew it.

http://portugalresident.com/terrified-woman-left-by-police-to-be-stabbed-to-death-in-set%C3%BAbal#sthash.JgHdw8jV.dpuf

Appalling, Max. Portugal does indeed have a dreadful record on domestic violence, and child abuse. One of the worst in the world, I seem to recall?

bb1 wrote:Appalling, Max. Portugal does indeed have a dreadful record on domestic violence, and child abuse. One of the worst in the world, I seem to recall?

Appalling indeed, and there were more -


Posted by portugalpress on January 26, 2015

Four women die in one horrific week of domestic violence in Portugal

Four women die in one horrific week of domestic violence in Portugal
In a truly horrendous week for domestic violence, Portugal’s toll of women killed by violent partners reached four.

The latest victim, just like one of the others (see: http://portugalresident.com/terrified-woman-left-by-police-to-be-stabbed...), had appealed in vain for police protection days before she was gunned down by three shots to the head in a street in Lamego.

Sixty-year-old Isabel Figueiredo had visited her local PSP police station to ask for a previous complaint against her former partner to be “reactivated”.

According to a police source, agents simply passed the case to the court for consideration, but the court decided not to act.

“They knew the woman’s ex husband had a number of firearms at home that despite being legal constituted a threat. These cases should be treated with urgency,” the source told reporters.

In all last week’s murders, the perpetrators attempted suicide straight afterwards.

In the case of Isabel Figueiredo’s former partner, the attempt was successful.

With the local population of Lamego now in shock, it is unknown when the two funerals will go ahead.

Elsewhere, the husband of Maria Cremilda Pinheiro, stabbed to death in Setúbal days before, is understood to have tried stabbing himself before being tackled by police. He now remains in preventive custody awaiting trial.

Other murders last week were those of 82-year-old Judite Fernandes whose husband Mário then killed himself, and 43-year-old Adriana Marques, whose former partner also put an end to his life in jail.

http://portugalresident.com/four-women-die-in-one-horrific-week-of-domestic-violence-in-portugal#sthash.nf2WRnuq.dpuf

Posted by portugalpress on November 21, 2014


Death-plunge “accident”: another tragic case of domestic violence


The “simulated” car accident that was made to look as if a young mother died after driving her car into a ravine has been revealed to be no more than a calculated act of domestic violence.

Police called to the scene in the borough of Seia last week were initially “left with doubts” as to how the dead car driver - a pretty 38-year-old lawyer with two children - came by her injuries.

They did not appear to be consistent with the accident that left her husband badly injured.

The body of Ana Rita Valério was sent for autopsy, and within 48 hours the case had turned into a murder inquiry, with Ana Rita’s husband Rui considered to be her killer.

If police prove their case, this will be the 37th murder of a wife, girlfriend or ex-partner this year. With over a month to go before the year ends, 2014 will be remembered as a very black year for domestic violence in Portugal. In 2013, 37 women died, and already that was up on 2012.

As commentators said at the time, domestic violence is now Portugal’s most worrying type of crime, “more lethal than road accidents or cancer”.

In this latest case, Rui Andrade has now been detained by PJ police as investigators piece together the horror of Ana Rita’s final moments.

The young woman is reported to have been bludgeoned over the head, first as she drove, and later after her car had skidded down a ditch before the 150-metre drop into the ravine.

Police believe the plan involved taking the handbrake off to let the car fall finally into the ravine, but even then Ana Rita’s attacker saw she was still alive.

It is then believed that he pulled her from the wreckage and hit her “tens of times over the head” until she was “disfigured”.

The motive of the crime appears to be that Ana Rita wanted a divorce.

Her funeral was due to go ahead this (Friday) afternoon at 3pm

http://portugalresident.com/death-plunge-%E2%80%9Caccident%E2%80%9D-another-tragic-case-of-domestic-violence#sthash.MRBoAHBO.dpuf