Justice orders the release of ‘Uncle Paulo’s’ niece; woman is accused of two crimes

The Rio de Janeiro Court ordered the release, this Thursday (2/5), Érika Souza, niece of “Uncle Paulo”, the elderly man who was taken dead to the bank to get a loan. The accused will be released for two crimes, embezzlement and vilification of a corpse.

Judge Luciana Mocco, head of the 2nd Criminal Court of Bangu, received the complaint from the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), made on Wednesday (1st), and responded to the request to consider her a defendant. “In summary judgment, I verify that there is just cause for the initiation of the criminal action. There is minimal evidence of authorship and materiality”, says the text. It also defines 10 days for the defense to manifest itself.

The judge, however, decided to accept the defense’s request for the accused to be released, as the woman had been in prison since the incident. The arrest, which was initially caught in the act, was converted into preventative arrest.

“I do not see the need for preventive detention to guarantee public order, as there is no news that the work activity carried out by the accused is that of caring for the elderly, leaving
proven in the records, including, that he does not have full mental health […] who even attested to the
need for hospitalization due to chemical dependency on sedatives and hypnotics”, says the text of the report.

The judge does not consider it “legitimate to keep the accused in prison”, since “she is a primary accused, with a fixed residence, and is not, in principle, dangerous to harm the criminal investigation or put public order at risk”.

Mocco also criticizes the way in which the case has been taken to court, with media appeal.

“Despite the great repercussion of the case on national and international networks, as the video taken inside the bank branch had immense circulation on social networks, I understand that speculations are not supported by the evidence in the case to justify the exceptional measure of the prison, highlighting It is appropriate that public outcry is not a requirement provided for by law for the decree or maintenance of prison”, he writes.

In order to keep the accused free, the judge defines a series of conditions. Are they:

Monthly attendance at the court registry, to inform and justify your activities or possible change of address. In this case, the new address must be informed before moving, under penalty of new arrest;
Considering the proof of a medical report indicating the need for hospitalization for mental health treatment, if this occurs, the court must also be communicated;
Prohibition of being absent from the District for a period exceeding seven days, except with express authorization from the court.

Understand the case

On April 16, Érika Souza took her uncle to a bank branch in Bangu, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, and tried to take out a bank loan with the dead man.

The MP’s complaint highlights that, although the loan was taken out by Paulo while he was still alive, the withdrawal of R$17,975.38 could not be carried out, as the victim had died. The document states that the accused tried to appropriate amounts that would no longer be used in favor of her uncle, and wanted to take advantage of the fact that the loan would not need to be repaid by the debtor, since he had already died.

To Correio, Érika’s lawyer, Ana Carla de Souza Correia, said that “she brought forensic psychiatrist Eude Lobo and psychologist Elise Trindade as a technical assistant to help with the case.”