Former stepfather accused of killing influencer Carol Pascuin is sentenced to 30 years in prison

According to the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJ-SP), six witnesses were interviewed and the defendant was questioned throughout the day. The jury was held almost five years after the crime, and the action is under judicial secrecy.

Carol Pascuin was found dead in her apartment, in Sorocaba, on the morning of November 24, 2021. According to the Civil Police investigation, Eduardo Freitas dos Santos, former partner of the victim's mother and former stepfather of the young woman, was named as the main suspect in the crime and ended up arrested.

Investigations indicated that the accused maintained obsessive behavior towards the victim and her family. As pointed out by the police at the time, he would have monitored Carol's routine before the murder.

The Public Prosecutor's Office charged Eduardo with qualified homicide. In January 2022, the court received the complaint and he became a defendant in the case. At the time, the request for preventive detention was denied, but the criminal action continued until the decision that took the case to a popular jury.

In addition to the accusation for the death of Carol Pascuin, Eduardo was also convicted in another case related to the persecution of the victim and her mother. With the influencer's death, the Civil Police analyzed the defendant's devices and found a notepad note of a spy application, which can also be called "spyware" or "stalkerware".

In December 2023, the court convicted him of the crimes of persecution, known as stalking, committed against Carol and Elaine. Investigations showed that he monitored and pursued the two before the murder.

The accused was also arrested in another case, conducted in Itapeva (SP), related to the investigation of sexual violence against a child. According to the police report, after the suspect was left alone with the child, who was just two years and 10 months old and is a relative of Eduardo, the parents noticed a change in the boy's behavior. As soon as she was dropped off at home, the victim reported the abuse to her family.