Sister of seamstress killed in Barrinha, SP, gets emotional after ex-brother-in-law's conviction: 'It's possible to try to smile'

The victim Fabiana Cristina Batista and the suspect Paulo Henrique Batista, from Barrinha (SP), were married for 25 years.

Sister of seamstress Fabiana Cristina Lacerda Batista, 42, killed by her ex-husband in May this year, singer Lorena Freitas was moved after the conviction of Paulo Henrique Batista, also 42, on Thursday night (12).

"A piece of us will be missing, but tomorrow I will wake up different. It's possible for us to still try to smile a little. It's possible for us to move forward with a piece of us missing."

Paulo was sentenced to 54 years and four months in prison, in a closed regime. He had been in prison since the day of the crime, which took place on May 2, in Barrinha (SP). The popular jury convicted him of all the crimes highlighted by the Public Prosecutor's Office: feminicide, illegal possession of a weapon with a suppressed number, illegal harassment and threat.

For Lorena, the feeling is that justice has been done and the family can move forward.

"A part of us is missing, but with the feeling that it didn't end there, because it could have remained that way if he had escaped, if there hadn't been so much evidence, if there hadn't been cameras, everything could have been different. He could have gone unpunished, like many cases do. So we have this consolation that he didn't go unpunished, that justice was done and with the support of all the people who helped us."

Paulo's defense team could not be reached to comment on the matter until the last update of this report, but they had already said before the trial that they would appeal the decision if they considered the sentence unfair.

The trial, which was scheduled for 9:30 am, began around 1 pm on Thursday, after the defendant's new defense was established. The seven jurors were unanimous in considering the four charges.

To EPTV, a TV Globo affiliate, Lorena said that it was worth fighting so that her ex-brother-in-law would not go unpunished. The jury took place less than a year after Fabiana's death.

"My fight was worth it from the beginning. (...) all the people who accompanied us during these six months of struggle, who didn't give up, who didn't let go of our hand, thank you very much, thank you very much. (...) Let this serve as an example, that you won't go unpunished, you don't always go unpunished. Everything, at one point, at one time, will go wrong. So, this serves as an example, of raising awareness, so that this doesn't happen again."

The feminicide took place on the night of May 2, on Avenida Costa e Silva, in Jardim Paulista. Fabiana, 42 years old, arrived by car at a bar accompanied by her sister, singer Lorena Freitas, who was giving a musical performance at the establishment.

Security camera images show that Paulo Henrique arrived at the scene at around 6:45 pm, about an hour before the crime. He crossed the street, went to a kebab cart, placed an order and sat there for a few minutes.

When the car Fabiana was in parked, around 7:50 pm, the man got up, ran around the vehicle and surprised the victim. The seamstress was hit by six shots. She got out of the car, but fell to the ground.

The 38 caliber revolver used in the crime, which had the number shaved off, was seized by the Civil Police.

Paulo Henrique was arrested in the act. After the crime, he was run over and harassed during a disturbance, according to the Military Police, and had to be admitted to Santa Casa de Sertãozinho under police escort.

After being discharged, Paulo was taken to the Provisional Detention Center (CDP) in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), where he remained detained until trial.

According to investigations, Paulo Henrique traveled around 200 kilometers between Itaú de Minas (MG), where the couple lived, and Barrinha. The suspicion is that he managed to find his ex-wife's location through social media.

According to Fabiana's sister, the seamstress had moved to Barrinha almost three months before the crime, after separating from Paulo, to whom she had been married for 25 years.

The victim had a protective order against her ex-husband. Months before the feminicide, he was arrested after threatening her with a knife, but was released the next day, during a custody hearing.

According to his sister, even after the separation and moving to another city, Paulo continued to threaten Fabiana and tried to maintain contact with the couple's children through social media.