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Three convicted in 2021 poison murder in Portugal

The trial concerning the murder of a Luxembourg resident in Portugal in 2021 concluded today with life sentences for all three defendants.

The main defendant – referred to as “Ana” in RTL’s reports on the trial – along with her mother and her mother’s partner, with whom Ana had a secret relationship, each received a life sentence. However, the court acquitted Ana’s son. It ruled it had no jurisdiction over him, as he was not involved in planning the murder, which was orchestrated in Luxembourg. The court agreed with the prosecution’s argument on this point, though it acknowledged the son may have later assisted in disposing of the victim’s body in a river near Figueira da Foz.

Throughout the trial, the defendants gave conflicting accounts of events, all of which were contradicted by the physical evidence. Ana admitted that Pedro was poisoned on the night of 4-5 August 2021. She stated that insecticide for potato beetles was mixed into a drink, and to convince him to consume it, she proposed marriage and they toasted to their engagement.

Later that night, when Pedro became violently ill, his family members took him to a river and pushed him into the water. They had not accounted for the tides, however, and his body was discovered the following morning in an estuary.

Although the murder was carried out in Portugal, the trial was held in Luxembourg because the conspiracy to kill the victim was planned within the Grand Duchy.

Also today

• Analysis from the International Coffee Organisation indicates that Luxembourg has the world’s highest per-capita coffee consumption. The report estimates that the average resident of Luxembourg consumes 118,227 cups of coffee over the course of their life – an average of 5.31 cups per day. There is a caveat though, as the results include the huge number of cross-border workers who purchase coffee in Luxembourg, which rather inflates the numbers.
• AFP has reported that French special forces provided support to Beninese troops to put down an attempted coup at the weekend, which came after a wave of military takeovers in west Africa, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso. The coups have severely eroded French influence and presence in its former colonies.
• More than 60,000 people have signed a petition, delivered to Croatia’s government, calling for the removal of public Catholic men’s prayers that promote patriarchal authority from city squares.
  The prayers, led by the conservative Catholic men’s group “Be Manly”, have been held across Croatia on the first Saturday of every month since 2022, attracting a small but dedicated following.
• The high-profile trial concerning the murder of a Luxembourg resident in Portugal in 2021 concluded today, with life sentences for all three defendants. Throughout the trial, the defendants gave conflicting accounts of events, all of which were contradicted by the physical evidence. Although the murder was carried out in Portugal, the trial was held in Luxembourg because the conspiracy to kill the victim was planned within the Grand Duchy.
• The Chamber of Commerce presented its review of 2025 and warned that businesses in Luxembourg are under increasing strain due to geopolitical volatility, high production costs, decreasing European demand, and the housing crisis. Optimism in the business community has clearly waned. Companies say they lack the stability required to invest and create jobs. While around 90% of firms expressed confidence in the country’s economic prospects back in 2020, that number has dropped to just 67% in 2025.
• Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has urged her compatriots to fight for freedom against “state terrorism”, as she said she was coming out of hiding to travel to Norway after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in her absence. Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power, has not been seen in public for months after threats to her life.

On air

Lots of discussions regarding the Australian social media ban for U16’s, especially considering the article regarding the French Woman, who’s son committed suicide, filing a complaint against TikTok and Meta among other such companies on charges including incitement to suicide.

Figure of the day

70% of Luxembourgers worry about housing

• Following the evaluation of Luxembourg’s politicians’ and the government’s popularity on Tuesday, the second part of the Politmonitor survey focuses on the issues that worry Luxembourgers the most. Housing remains the top problem at 70%, ahead of the international geopolitical situation (64%) and increased traffic (53%). The rise of right-wing extremism follows it with 50%, as does the pension system (50%), climate change (49%), and the economic situation (29%).
• While respondents are slightly less concerned about the international situation now than they were only a few months ago (-2%), increasing traffic has returned to the forefront (+7%). The issue does not trouble 18–34 year olds much, but it seems to have become a central concern for those over 55. Geographically speaking, respondents based in southern Luxembourg are the most worried (57%). ADR voters (61%) and The Greens voters (55%) also rank it among their main concerns.

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