Eduardo Abner was questioned this Thursday (12), at the end of the investigation of the case in BH. Information about the testimony was passed on by Forum Lafayette after the hearing.
By g1 Minas — Belo Horizonte
This Thursday (12) Sergeant Eduardo Abner Pereira de Oliveira denied to the court his intention to kill his wife, Captain Michele Leão Azevedo. He attributed the death to drugs.
The testimony ended the investigation of the case, after 28 witnesses were heard on Tuesday (10) and this Thursday (12). The case is being processed in secret.
The defendant is responsible for qualified femicide, procedural fraud, bodily injury and drug trafficking. The Public Ministry maintains that the crime was motivated by jealousy.
The prosecution claims that the sergeant asphyxiated the victim and altered the crime scene by washing sheets, hiding pieces of wood and deleting cell phone messages.
The accused alleged to the police that the captain's bodily injuries resulted from consensual sexual practices and a fall from the stairs that occurred in the apartment.
Montage shows photos of the suspect, Sergeant Eduardo Abner, and PMMG captain Michele Leão, found dead — Photo: Montagem g1
Military Police Sergeant Eduardo Abner Pereira de Oliveira, accused of killing his wife, Captain Michele Leão Azevedo, aged 41, told the court this Thursday (12) that he had no intention of killing her. According to information provided by Forum Lafayette after the hearing, he said he believed the death was a result of drug abuse the night before.
During interrogation, the defendant also stated that the couple had sexual practices that involved domination and submission, including the morning in which Michele died. The statements are the version presented by the sergeant to the Court.
The Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) maintains that the captain was attacked several times with a piece of wood and had her neck squeezed by her partner, in a crime motivated by jealousy.
In addition to the interrogation, 12 witnesses were interviewed this Thursday, and the investigation of the case was closed, according to the TJMG. At the first hearing, on Tuesday (10), another 16 people gave testimony, including Michele's mother and sister. In total, 28 witnesses were heard in the two sessions.
The process is being processed in secret, and the press did not have access to the hearings.
Eduardo is accused of qualified feminicide, procedural fraud, drug trafficking and three episodes of bodily harm. Upon accepting the complaint from the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Court also maintained the police officer's preventive detention.
What the indictment says
Michele died on July 20, in the apartment where she lived with the sergeant, in the Palmares neighborhood, in the Northeast Region of Belo Horizonte. The couple had been in a relationship for approximately six years.
According to the complaint, the two received friends for a get-together before the crime. During the meeting, Eduardo allegedly demonstrated jealousy and aggressive behavior when questioning Michele about conversations with guests. The situation would have required the intervention of other people.
The Public Ministry states that the murder occurred in a context of domestic and family violence. For the prosecution, the crime had a futile motivation, related to jealousy, and was committed with cruel means, through aggression and suffocation.
The complaint also points out that Michele's ability to defend herself was hampered by being surprised inside her own residence.
The sergeant is still responsible for three previous attacks against the captain, on the 2nd, 13th and 16th of July. According to MPMG, the episodes caused injuries that led Michele to seek medical attention.
Attempt to change the scene
According to the Public Ministry, Eduardo tried to modify the crime scene to make the investigation more difficult. He allegedly put the bed sheets to wash, removed the pieces of wood used in the attacks from the apartment and deleted messages from the victim's cell phone.
Footage from the building's security cameras shows the sergeant carrying Michele on his shoulders to the garage. He put his companion in the car and took her to Odilon Behrens Hospital, in the Northwest Region of the capital.
The captain arrived at the unit already dead. The medical team identified multiple injuries and estimated that death had occurred between four and six hours earlier. Eduardo was arrested in the act, and the arrest was later converted into preventive.
The drug trafficking charge is related to 18 ecstasy pills that, according to the MPMG, the sergeant tried to discard in a hospital trash can while he was accompanied by police officers.
The Public Prosecutor's Office also requested that, in the event of conviction, a minimum compensation of R$50,000 be set for the damage caused by the crime.
Family stories
During the investigation, Michele's mother told the police that she considered her daughter's relationship abusive and marked by psychological control. According to her, the couple went through successive separations and reconciliations.
Family members also reported that the captain was trying to end the relationship and that, in a previous argument, Eduardo allegedly wielded a knife.
The mother said she had an appointment with Michele on the morning of the day she died, but her daughter called to say she couldn't make it. After that, he sent messages throughout the day and received no response.
Version presented to the police
In a statement to the police, Eduardo denied having committed a crime. He stated that the couple consumed alcohol and ecstasy during the get-together and attributed the injuries to sexual practices that he described as consensual and to Michele falling down the stairs.
According to the sergeant's version, the captain refused medical attention. He said that the two slept in the afternoon and that he decided to take her to the hospital when he noticed, at night, that she was not responding to stimuli.
In a note released during the investigations, the defense stated that it was necessary to wait for the conclusion of the expert reports and investigation. The lawyers said they trusted due legal process and the impartiality of the investigations and said they would speak out at the appropriate time, preserving the right to defense and the confidentiality of the procedure.
