Miguel Rodrigo Pereira, accused of killing teenager Victoria Lorrany Coutinho, aged 14, was sentenced this Wednesday (4) to 47 years and six months in prison. The young woman's body was located in a forested area on April 30, 2024, in Charqueada (SP), nine days after she disappeared.
The jury started at 10am, at the Piracicaba Forum (SP), and the sentence was given around 9pm.
The accused, who had already been in prison since the time of the crime, was convicted of qualified homicide, with four aggravating circumstances:
With the use of cruel means;
Through an appeal that made it difficult for the victim to defend himself;
To ensure impunity in relation to another crime;
Against women and for reasons of female gender (feminicide).
In addition, he was also convicted of qualified kidnapping and rape, aggravated by the fact that the victim was a minor, in addition to hiding a corpse.
Lawyer Renan Servija, who defends the defendant, said that the defense exercised extensive defense and contradictory, presenting the theses and submitting the evidentiary elements to the jury's assessment.
Servija highlighted that, although he respects the decision, the defense will appeal the conviction, as it considers it necessary to review the legal and evidentiary aspects of the trial.
"The filing of the appeal constitutes a legitimate exercise of the constitutional right to full defense and seeks to submit the decision to the jurisdictional control of the higher court, observing the legal limits for reviewing the Jury Court's decisions", he added.
Miguel Rodrigo Pereira was tried for the death of teenager Victoria Lorrany Coutinho, aged 14 — Photo: Edijan Del Santo/EPTV
Request for mental insanity examination denied
When deciding for the defendant's popular jury in 2025, judge Luiz Antonio Cunha, from the Piracicaba Jury and Executions Court, denied the defense's request to convert the trial into a procedure to verify the accused's possible mental insanity.
In a statement to the Court at the time, the defendant stated that he was under the influence of drugs, did not know the victim or was aware of her age, and that the sexual relationship was consensual, without violence. He admitted that he committed femicide and hid the body, but did not admit to rape.
Civil Police vehicle and hearse at the place where the body was found — Photo: Gabriela Ferraz/ EPTV
History of violence against women
When announcing the indictment of the accused, delegate Juliana Ricci, from the Specialized Division in Criminal Investigations (Deic) of Piracicaba, revealed that the accused already had a history of violence against women.
In a statement to the court, the ex-wife confirmed that she had been a victim of sexual abuse by the accused on several occasions.
The delegate also cited contradictions in the defendant's testimony to the Civil Police.
The region where the body was found was isolated — Photo: Gabriela Ferraz/ EPTV
Remember the case
Victoria disappeared around 10pm on April 21, 2024, when she was passing along Rodovia Hermínio Petrin (SP-308), near the Santa Luzia neighborhood, in Charqueada;
According to the family, she had gone out to buy a snack;
According to a cousin of Victoria's mother, the search for her began the same night, mainly through sugarcane fields and abandoned houses;
Nine days later, on April 30, a teenager's body was found by a 73-year-old man in a green area in the Recreio neighborhood, around 11am. The victim was partially buried;
Although the victim's identity was still being investigated, family members already believed it was Victoria;
Delegate Juliana Ricci, from the Specialized Criminal Investigations Police Station (Deic) pointed out that "everything indicated" that it was Victoria's body, but that this would only be confirmed by the results of a DNA test;
On May 2, the delegate stated that a necropapilloscopic examination, the last attempt before carrying out the DNA test, identified the body as that of Victoria;
According to the police investigation, there was physical violence against the victim and this is a case of femicide;
The court ordered the temporary arrest of the accused, who is 42 years old, and a task force used a sniffer dog, drone, GPS and analyzed the terrain to reach him;
The person under investigation was located and arrested on a farm, close to the district of Ibitiruna;
He lived close to the victim and where the body was located;
According to the Civil Police, it was determined that the man used crack before approaching the teenager;
He has a criminal record for attempted murder, domestic violence and theft.
Victoria Lorrany Coutinho was 14 years old — Photo: Personal collection
