After being acquitted of the crime of murder and dismemberment of Diogo Gonçalves, in the Algarve in 2020, nurse Mariana Fonseca, 25, will receive compensation of around €30,000 for having been unlawfully sacked by the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário do Algarve.
In two judgments of the Court of Appeal of Évora, after appeals by the employer, the decision was made to “condemn the employer to pay the compensation to the plaintiff based on 15 days of basic remuneration and seniority”.
In April last year, Mariana Fonseca wanted to return to work at the Hospital de Lagos, but the hospital administration reportedly refused.
Mariana Fonseca then demanded compensation from the hospital, that had instituted disciplinary proceedings against her for unjustified absences for the time she was in prison. She ended up being fired and not getting paid until she was fired.
Fonseca appealed to the Labour Court, which found her rightto be within her rights. She proceeded with a lawsuit in which she asked the hospital for €50,000 in compensation, for illicit dismissal.
In March 2020, Diogo Gonçalves was murdered with the aim of Maria Malveiro and Mariana Fonseca to steal the €70,000 that he had received in compensation for the death of his mother, who was run over in 2016 in the Albufeira area. Mariana Fonseca, a nurse, and Maria Malveiro, a security guard, had a romantic relationship with each other at the time of the events.
Mariana Fonseca, who was detained on charges of aggravated homicide, desecration of a corpse, illegitimate access, computer fraud, simple theft and use of a vehicle, was acquitted of the crime of aggravated homicide and sentenced to a suspended sentence of four years in prison.
In court, it was said that the fact that Mariana had revived Diogo “removes any intention” to kill him, and they attributed more responsibility for the death of Diogo Gonçalves to the defendant Maria Malveiro than Mariana Fonseca.
The Public Ministry (MP) had asked for a prison sentence of more than 20 years for the two defendants, while the defense asked for acquittal, alleging the lack of evidence for a conviction.
Source Postal.pt
