The judgement of the trial of Mariana Carrilho, who stabbed Núria Gomes to death outside a nightclub in Albufeira, in April 2023, has been postponed again by Portimão Court.
See previous article about the crime here: https://algarvedailynews.com/news/23312-albufeira-young-woman-under-the-influence-of-drugs-and-alcohol-accused-of-killing-another
This is the second time that the court decision has been postponed, after initially being scheduled for June 28th 2024 and postponed until yesterday, July 11th 2024. This time the postponement is due to the court officers' strike. The reading of the ruling is now scheduled for Monday 15th July, at 2:30 pm.
The postponement of the Juen 28th reading of this judgment of the trial was announced by the president of the panel of judges, Antonieta Nascimento, with no reasons given for setting the new date of July 11th.
On June 14th, at the trial, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) ruled that the Mariana Carrilho receive no less than 18 years in prison for the murder of Núria Gomes. In the closing arguments of the trial, the Public Prosecutor, Teresa Barata, claimed that it had been proven in the hearings that the defendant “acted with the intention of hitting” the victim by “using the knife she had with her”.
However, the defendants' lawyers requested her acquittal, "as there are many doubts" about who was responsible for the stabbing that caused the young woman's death, "since no one saw the attack, nor the knife in the defendant's hand". He claimed that “neither the witnesses nor the video surveillance images presented in court are enlightening, nor do they show the defendant stabbing the victim”.
“As so many doubts remain, the defendant must be acquitted,” the lawyer argued. At this point, the reading of the judgment was scheduled for June 28th, at 2:00 pm.
The facts date back to April 2023, when the two young women were involved in physical confrontations outside a nightclub, with Núria Gomes being stabbed and dying shortly afterwards.
The defendant, Mariana Carrilho, who is in preventive detention, is accused of a crime of qualified homicide, while her boyfriend at the time of the events, José Miguel Oliveira aged 21, is charged with the crimes of qualified assault on physical integrity and personal favouritism, for allegedly trying to get rid of the bladed weapon.
