Almost seven months since he was beaten senseless and fatally injured, the murder case of Albufeira barman Paulo Santos has inched forwards.
Three young men already suspected of qualified murder, GBH and coercion have seen the accusations against them formally indicted by the Public Ministry.
Prosecutors say the attack which appalled the ‘party town’ was “especially perverse and censurable”.
Santos’ attackers continued to kick and punch the 35-year-old father-of-one, even after he had fallen to the ground and lay unconscious.
The violence“allied with the fall to the ground in which he broke two vertebrae” meant that by the time Santos had been transported to hospital in Faro, doctors gave him no more than a 1% chance of recovery.
Five days later, never having regained consciousness, Santos died (click here).
Police believe the attack against him could have been a “settling of scores”, though Santos’ family refute this, saying it appears to have been entirely random.
“He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time”, a relative has told reporters.
The three alleged attackers were all quickly identified by PJ police, but arrest warrants took another month to serve.
Since then, two of the men have been placed in preventive custody.
The three are said to be aged between 22 and 26.
Statements from witnesses include accounts taken for future memory from visiting tourists.
Paulo Santos, also known as Paulo di Santo, was attacked on September 3 last year at 6am beside a hot dog stand in the Santa Eulália district close to the bar where he worked.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
Photo: a tribute placed on social media by the Hangover Bar where Paulo worked.
