Brazilian police arrest stepfather who fled nine years on
It has taken nine years, but authorities in Brazil have finally moved on the tragic case of Rodrigo Lapa, a 15-year-old boy living in Portimão who was brutally beaten to death, and whose body was found days after he was reported missing by his mother.
The only suspect in this horrible story has always been Rodrigo’s ‘so-called stepfather’ – a Brazilian ‘washer-upper’ in a local restaurant, who fled Portugal for his homeland before the boy’s body was found.
Authorities here have never had any doubt as to who killed Rodrigo. The delay in delivering justice came from the fact that extradition proceedings between Brazil and Portugal are not simple, and in spite of the wealth of evidence sent to Brazilian authorities, they have taken their time.
The stepfather – Joaquim Lara Pinto – has, if anything, made things ‘easy’ by staying put in his hometown of Cuiabá. He is now behind bars, awaiting trial for Rodrigo’s murder.
Pedro Proença, the defence lawyer who took up this case for Rodrigo’s family/ supporters, admits that getting to this point has been a long, dispiriting struggle, but continuing pressure on Brazilian authorities (police/ judiciary, even politicians) appears finally to have paid off.
For the Facebook group, ‘Rodrigo Lapa – Our boy’, the news is everything they have been waiting for. Made up of mothers/ fathers/ concerned citizens, they have published an emotional post to thank Pedro Proença “from the bottom of (their) hearts” for his tireless campaign to see Justice, as well as another member of the group, “Sónia, who fought so hard throughout the investigations, the hours she dedicated to this case, the family moments she gave up in favour of this achievement”.
Today, “in the midst of the pain, we can smile. Justice will be done (…) Rodrigo is a son who wasn’t born from our bodies, but was born and has always remained in our mothers’ hearts.
“Now Rodrigo, rest in peace my love. Watch over us as you always have”.
This was always a heartbreaking case, for the details that emerged of a childhood marked by adversity; and a future so cruelly snatched for absolutely futile reasons.
The ‘mobile phone’ over which Rodrigo is believed to have lost his life, was found, Pedro Proença has revealed, among Lara Pinto’s possessions in Cuiabá. It is just another detail that has left no room for doubt in this awful story that cast a dark shadow over Portimão all those years ago.
With luck, we will hear the results of the trial of Lara Pinto (also referred to by some media as Sousa Lara). For the time being, Letters Rogatory are being sent by Brazilian authorities to various people in Portugal of relevance to the case. ND
