A case of violence against women in a building in Tijuca, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, sparked outrage last week. Three women were victims of the same man: two were brutally attacked, including an elderly woman, and a third was threatened.
This Sunday's Fantástico (8) spoke with the victims, who recounted the moments of terror they experienced. The attacker, Lucas Portela Fontana Gomes, 32 years old, underwent a custody hearing this Saturday (7) and was ordered into preventive detention.
The beginning of the attacks
The terror began in the early hours of Thursday, on the third floor of a building in the north of Rio de Janeiro. The attacker lives in the apartment and is next door to Ms. Célia, 81 years old. It was one o'clock in the morning when he broke in and invaded her apartment through the kitchen door and the attacks began.
“He just punched me, punched me, punched me here in the head, in the face,” said the elderly woman, who suffered head trauma and had to be hospitalized. She was discharged this Saturday (7).
She says she had heard her neighbor scream a year ago. "He started saying I'm going to kill him, come here and I'm going to kill him. I felt he was worse than before", says the elderly woman. That day, she was watching television when the screams returned and then she heard a kick at her door.
The screams caught the attention of another neighbor, Vera Lúcia Nascimento, who lives in the same hallway. She called the police, but, shortly after, Lucas left Célia's apartment and tried to break into her house. In the property were Vera, the bedridden mother and her two children.
"While he was punching and kicking the door, my son tried to hold on. [...] He threw the door on the floor and kept shouting that he was going to kill us", he reported.
The family managed to escape down the stairs and ran to the building's entrance, asking for help. Lucas followed the family up the stairs.
More than 30 blows inside the elevator
It was at that moment that Dilva Barbosa, a domestic worker who has lived in Rio de Janeiro for 15 years, heard the commotion and decided to help.
"I got up, changed my clothes and went down to the lobby to find out what was happening. I thought it might be a robbery," he said.
Upon finding Vera and her children desperate, Dilva learned that the neighbor's mother was still in the apartment. She decided to go up to try to help her.
But, as soon as the elevator door opened, Dilva was surprised by Lucas. "He came furiously at me, told me to kneel on the ground and I didn't kneel. Then he attacked me with kicks and punches," he said. "I believe he was hitting to kill, because he was only hitting me on the head."
Security cameras recorded the violence. Dilva received more than 30 blows, mainly to the head, and suffered strangulation.
"At the time he gave me the rear naked choke, I thought: 'Now I think I'm going to die', because I was so choked. I almost passed out, but I came back. In my head, I just thought about God and said: 'My God, am I going to die?'", he said.
Even though she was injured, she managed to get up and get out of the elevator. "I only thought about my daughter. I fought for her. [...] I needed to live for my daughter", he said.
When Dilva got out of the elevator, on the ground floor of the building, she met Lucas again. He took off his clothes and went after her. Upon reaching the ground floor, Dilva was once again pursued by the attacker. The doorman intervened and helped the victim escape.
Arrest and investigation
Lucas put on his shorts again, went to the apartment with his dogs and, within a few minutes, got into the elevator with new clothes, as if nothing had happened.
He was approached by the police while still in the building. According to the delegate responsible for the case, he reacted to the approach and tried to take the gun from one of the police officers. The man was shot in the leg and had to be restrained with a stun gun.
At the police station, he stated that he did not remember the attacks. He was released that morning, but was arrested hours later, when the police had access to images from the elevator.
The preventive detention was ordered on Saturday (7). The condominium stated that it has already asked that Lucas be evicted from the apartment.
In testimony, he said he used drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and marijuana. The fighter's defense stated that the attacks were a serious reaction to the use of controlled medications. However, no toxicological examination was carried out to determine whether he was under the influence of any substance.
The police are also investigating the possibility that the crimes were motivated by hatred towards women.
"We are working with this hypothesis, yes, of a gender crime. And that is why he is responding for attempted feminicide," said the police chief.
'Afraid of him coming back'
After attacks, victims try to recover from their injuries and trauma.
“He is very cowardly, attacking an 81-year-old woman,” said Ms. Célia. She also said that she only realized the severity of the injuries when she looked in the mirror, after being discharged from the hospital. "It was scary. My God, what did the guy do to me?", he said.
Dilva, who risked her own life to try to save her neighbor, claims that she now lives with the fear of a new attack.
"I don't know how I'm going to deal with this, because now I only have one fear. I think the fear I didn't have of going up there is the fear I have of him coming back", he said.
After being discharged from the hospital, Dilva and Dona Célia met again for the first time. The two hugged and shared the emotion of having survived.
"Our pain, seeing each other's pain, calms it down. I felt the same pain as you, the same panic as you", said Ms. Célia.
"I was happy to see you recover. It makes me even stronger", replied Dilva.
