Arrests have been made in the murder inquiry launched after a barman, who was savagely beaten and kicked in an Albufeira street on September 3rd, was allowed to die five days afterwards.
Doctors declared Paulo di Santo ‘brain dead’ and gave him less than 1% change of recovery. His life support systems were switched off on September 8th and an assault inquiry turned into a hunt for his murderers.
Di Santo, the father of a four-year-old son, was set upon in Rua Infante Dom Henrique, Albufeira, at around 6pm after he had stopped for a snack at a fast-food stand.
The Judicial Police, who had witnesses to the brutal attack, now have arrested three men, aged between 22 and 24 years, for "the presumed practice of crimes of qualified homicide and of offense to physical integrity."
According to the police, "the detainees threw punches and kicks, and with the victim lying prone on the floor, one of the defendants kicked him in the head, while another jumped on his body.”
Paulo di Santo was left lying unconscious in the street with serious head injuries and, as doctors later found, two broken vertebrae. Another youth also was injured.
The detainees will now be up before the judicial authorities and are unlikely to be granted bail.