A British child, aged 13, had died today in a veritable explosion of domestic violence.
The little village of Casais, in the municipality of Tomar, is still reeling from the course of events today which ‘did not come out of the blue’.
Episodes of domestic violence involving the child’s estranged Portuguese step-father were reportedly commonplace, and the British mother had lodged at least one official complaint.
Reading between the lines of reports this afternoon, the family spoke little Portuguese and may have had limited contact with locals.
All that is clear is that today the estranged step-father (described as aged 43, with a history of violent outbursts) became very violent in the home of the mother and child, and attacked both.
Somehow the mother ‘escaped’, already injured – and tried to raise help, while the son remained behind, having already been stabbed.
It is not clear whether the child died from his wounds, or whether he died as a result of the explosion that then rocked the property, claiming the life also of the step-father – who appeárs to have intended to commit suicide by setting light to a gas bottle.
The mother and a GNR agent are understood to have withstood injuries from flying glass in the explosion.
This is a story with a number of ‘blanks’ which authorities will now try to be filling in.
Luís Freire, president of the local parish council, has stressed that this was a ‘complicated situation’ that GNR police were already well aware of.
Reports emerging also attest to local people being well aware that the estranged ‘step-father’ was a ‘bad egg’: a complicated character who was never expected to change for the better.
PJ police are now in charge of this tragic investigation, while the mother has received hospital treatment for her injuries and is being offered psychological support.
Source: SIC Notícias
