The Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ) held this Monday (29) a hearing for the instruction and trial of the two military police officers accused of killing Kathlen Romeu, in 2021, in Complexo do Lins, in the northern part of the city. She was 24 years old and four months pregnant when she was shot in the chest with a rifle. On the first day of the hearing, four witnesses chosen by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) were heard. The first to speak was Kathlen’s grandmother, Sayonara de Fátima Queiroz de Oliveira, who was with her granddaughter when she was shot. The grandmother reinforced that the streets were calm as they walked towards Kathlen’s aunt’s house. There was no sound to indicate exchange of fire. The grandmother reported that she suddenly heard a blast and then saw her granddaughter lying on the ground. “I thought she was protecting herself, until I saw that she was injured. I started screaming, asking for help, when a PM arrived, ignored my granddaughter’s body and started to interrogate me. My granddaughter arrived dead at the hospital. I had no more hope for anything,” Sayonara said. Kathlen’s mother, Jackelline de Oliveira Lopes, also testified. She stated that, at the time, she was only informed that her daughter had been hit in the arm and only found out about the death in the hospital. To deal with the loss of her daughter, she said that she resorted to medication and therapy sessions: “In order not to go crazy, I leave the house to work”. The other two witnesses heard by the Justice were Marinalva Mafra Pinto, a resident of Beco da 14, and Noeli Brandão, president of the Associação de Moradores Unidos do Barro Preto, from Complexo do Lins. At the next hearing, scheduled for August 7, more witnesses are scheduled to testify. The two military police officers accused of murder are Marcos Felipe da Silva Salviano and Rodrigo Correia de Frias. They patrolled the area where Kathlen was shot. The two claim to have exchanged fire with local drug dealers. In addition to being defendants for homicide, they are responsible, along with three more MPs, for procedural fraud, as they would have altered the crime scene.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©