Defense abandons Carlinhos Bezerra's jury and trial is rescheduled for July 31

Carlinhos is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Thays Machado, and her then partner, Willian César Moreno, in January 2023, in the Consil neighborhood, in Cuiabá.

The session would be chaired by judge Mônica Catarina Perri Siqueira, from the 1st Criminal Court of the Capital. Given the situation, the judge ordered the defendant to appoint a new defense to act in the process.

If Carlinhos does not appoint new lawyers, public defender Marcus Vinícius Esbalqueiro has already been summoned to take over the defense in the jury.

Until then, the defendant was defended by lawyers Elson Marcelino da Silva Júnior, Larice Cristine, Melissa de Oliveira Machado and Gabriel Gouvea Neno Reiff.

The prosecution will be led by prosecutors Élide Manzini de Campos and Vinicius Gahyva Martins.

Defense claim

Before abandoning the session, lawyer Elson Marcelino da Silva Júnior told the press that the defense did not have enough time to analyze all the material in the case.

According to him, the lawyers received, a few days before the trial, an organizing box with 109 GB of documents. The defense also claimed to have identified the existence of other files related to the case, including one with around 1,300 pages, to which it had not yet had complete access.

“We were surprised with an organizing box with 109 gigabytes of documents,” said Elson.

The lawyer also criticized the conduct of the prosecution and said that the Public Ministry had used the state apparatus to increase the social commotion surrounding the case. He also pointed out flaws in the previous defense, such as missed deadlines and formal problems in appeals that, according to him, were not analyzed.

Crime occurred in 2023

Thays Machado and Willian César Moreno were shot dead on January 18, 2023, in front of the Solar Monet building, in the Consil neighborhood, in Cuiabá.

According to the complaint, Carlinhos did not accept the end of his relationship with Thays, with whom he had been in a relationship for around two years.

The investigations showed that, before the crime, the accused monitored his ex-girlfriend and had information about her movements. According to the investigation, 71 location records of places frequented by the victim were found. The data would have been downloaded to the cell phone and printed.

Thays had already registered a police report against Carlinhos. According to the police, the crime occurred when she went to her mother's building to return a car she had used to pick up Willian at the airport.

Carlinhos was arrested on the same day as the double homicide, on a family property, in the municipality of Campo Verde.

House arrest was revoked

In November 2023, Carlinhos received the benefit of house arrest by decision of the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso, after the defense alleged health problems.

The measure provided for the use of electronic ankle bracelets, movement restrictions and periodic presentation of medical reports.

However, in February 2024, the Public Ministry requested the revocation of the benefit, alleging non-compliance with the measures imposed by the Court.

Electronic monitoring reports pointed to unauthorized travel, including a trip to Rondonópolis accompanied by security guards. The MP also maintained that the medical reports did not demonstrate extreme weakness that would prevent treatment in the prison system.

The court accepted the request and ordered Carlinhos’ return to the prison system.

Appeals and postponements

Since the crime, the defendant's defense has presented a series of appeals to try to postpone or modify the conditions of the trial. Among the requests, there was an attempt to transfer the jury to another district or even to another state.

The defense claimed that the wide repercussion of the case could compromise the impartiality of the jurors in Cuiabá. The requests, however, were denied by the courts.

Initially, the jury was scheduled for July 7th, but it was postponed to this Tuesday (21st) following a request from the defense, which claimed the need to analyze materials produced during the investigation.

With the abandonment of the defense at the beginning of the session, the trial was rescheduled again, now for July 31st.

Recently, the Court also overturned the confidentiality of the process, following a request from the Public Ministry. As a result, public presence at the trial was authorized. Video transmission and image capture during the session, however, remain restricted to the press office of the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso.