'To me, they are monsters', says victim's sister in murder trial

Each person's name has been changed to guarantee anonymity.

According to the Portuguese forensic doctor, the victim, referred to here as Pedro, was still alive when his family threw him into the river near Figueira da Foz on 5 August. He said Pedro could likely have been saved had he received medical assistance in time. The autopsy confirmed that he had been poisoned with insecticide, allegedly administered by his partner Ana.

The expert described such poisonings as extremely rare, adding that suicide was improbable since people who intend to take their own lives usually turn to more common substances. He initially assumed Pedro had drowned, only to be surprised to find traces of pesticide in his stomach.

The investigation also uncovered that this was not the first attempt on Pedro's life. A few months earlier, Ana had given him laxatives, hoping he would feel unwell and fall from a crane at work, something she later admitted during questioning, along with the subsequent poisoning.

The court also learned that the family dynamic was even more complicated than first thought. On Tuesday, the judge formally recognised as civil party, that is, as a person or entity formally joining a criminal trial to seek recognition as a victim, Christina, Ana's daughter. Although Pedro was not her biological father, he had begun his relationship with Ana while she was pregnant, and he later adopted Christina at the age of three.

According to his lawyer, "her father was taken from her in an extremely cruel and violent way". The girl, now living with her godmother Teresa, wants no contact with her mother's family, all of whom stand accused. When Teresa once suggested visiting them, the child reportedly slammed her fist on the table and said firmly, "No".

Both Teresa's testimony and that of Pedro's sister Beatriz, who has also joined the proceedings as a civil party, portrayed Ana in a deeply negative light. Ana had told Teresa before the holiday that Pedro was terminally ill, but medical records later showed that the cyst he had removed was benign.

Immediately after the murder, Ana began spreading the story that she and Pedro had become engaged. She even invited Teresa, who happened to be on holiday near Lisbon, to celebrate with champagne. Teresa refused, suspecting something was wrong. She later told the court that Pedro had loved Ana and wanted a normal life with her, to buy a house and settle down, but Ana had always refused marriage to avoid losing her entitlement to Luxembourg's social inclusion income (RMG).

In the months leading up to the crime, Ana allegedly tried to lure Pedro into an online affair using a fake Facebook profile, a ploy he eventually discovered. Beatriz said her brother had not left Ana because he adored Christina, the little girl he had raised as his own. But he was also aware of Ana's affair with her stepfather Antonio. Teresa recalled that Pedro had once overheard Ana secretly talking to him from the bathroom. From that point, tensions between the couple grew increasingly frequent, according to Teresa.

Beatriz’s last memory of her brother was of him helping Christina pack for the trip to Portugal. They gave each other a kiss goodbye, and he said they'd see each other in Portugal, she told the court. But by the time she arrived on 7 August, he was already dead. Overcome with emotion, she stated: "To me, they are monsters. They killed my brother. They destroyed my family."

Beatriz explained that she had never trusted Ana, whom she described as lazy and dependent on Pedro, leaving him to handle everything at home, including caring for Christina.

While on holiday in Portugal at the same time, Beatriz tried repeatedly to reach her brother by phone and video call, but there was no answer. She received only written replies to her messages, later realising that "my brother was already dead, but someone was still sending me written replies".

Alarmed, she began searching for him. After seeing a fake Facebook post claiming Pedro had left Ana for another woman, she contacted that woman, who told her she had not spoken to Pedro in years. Beatriz then asked a friend to check Pedro's flat in Luxembourg to see if the shutters were open or the lights on, hoping he might have returned early. Everything was dark. When Pedro failed to show up for work after his holiday, Beatriz filed a missing person report on 7 September 2021 in Luxembourg.

Ana and her mother had previously refused to report him missing, arguing that since Ana and Pedro were not married, it was not their responsibility.

So far, Ana has not yet testified in court and has so far not commented on the proceedings. The trial continues on Wednesday, and until a verdict is reached, the defendants are presumed innocent.