Agents are accused of qualified murder, attempted murder and procedural fraud after shooting a 3-year-old girl
The MPF (Federal Public Ministry) denounced on Monday (6.Nov.2023) the 3 federal highway police officers involved in the death of the 3-year-old girl Heloísa dos Santos Silva. She was shot in the back of the head and shoulder in September this year, while she was in the car with her family in Baixada Fluminense, in Rio de Janeiro.
The agency accuses agents Fabiano Menacho, Matheus Domicioli and Wesley Santos of qualified murder, attempted murder and procedural fraud. The document also requests the payment of R$1.3 million in compensation to Heloísa’s family and requests that the trio appear before a popular jury. Here is the full document (PDF – 615 KB).
The MPF discards the version presented by the police about the case. According to the accused, the PRF (Federal Highway Police) had received information that the car Heloísa was in had been stolen. According to the report, the agents heard a supposed gunshot noise before firing the firearm.
“The accused, in one way or another, in their statements at police and disciplinary headquarters, although not directly, allude to the alleged sound of gunshots during the maneuver that resulted in their conduct of firing long-range firearms. against the occupants of the Peugeot 207. However, there is no unequivocal demonstration that the shots were fired in response (reaction) to any aggression by either the victims who occupied the Peugeot or third parties at the scene of the crime or in its surroundings”says the agency in the document.
The MPF also states that the driver of the car and Heloísa’s father, William da Silva, purchased the vehicle in a sales chain with the appearance of legality, based on documents proving payment for the car.
In light of the accusations, the police officers were also requested to be arrested on the grounds that Heloísa’s family is at risk of suffering some type of retaliation during the investigations.
“The clamor of the case does not in itself authorize segregation, without a doubt it contributes to the witnesses being exposed, even incurring a risk to their lives as the investigation develops and the process advances to the Jury plenary (which It could, in theory, take months or years). It should be borne in mind that, despite having already been heard in an inquisitorial setting, witnesses are essential to the investigation of the process and, especially, in the jury plenary”says the agency.
In a note sent to Power360 After Heloísa’s death, the PRF reported that the 3 police officers involved in the case were preventively removed from operational duties, “including for psychological care and evaluation”. The corporation’s internal affairs department is investigating the case.
“The institution collaborates with the judicial police investigations to clarify the facts. The PRF expresses its deepest regret and sympathizes with the victim’s family, and is in contact to provide support”he said in a note.
O Power360 tried to contact the defense of Fabiano Menacho, Matheus Domicioli and Wesley Santos, however, it was not possible to locate the agents’ lawyers until the publication of this report. The space remains open for manifestation.
REMEMBER THE CASE
The girl Heloísa dos Santos Silva, aged 3, was shot just before 10pm on the 7th of September, when she was driving with her parents, an aunt and a sister, in Arco Metropolitano, in Seropédica, about 60 km away. from the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
The family had spent the holiday in Rio and was returning to Petrópolis, in the mountainous region, where they live. Heloísa’s father said that the shot came from a PRF vehicle.
The girl was taken to the Adão Pereira Nunes Municipalized Hospital, in Duque de Caxias, in Baixada Fluminense. According to the Municipal Health Department, Heloísa arrived at the hospital taken by a PRF vehicle, with a gunshot wound to her skull, neck and shoulder.
Her health worsened and died on the morning of September 16th.
