First defendant in lawyer's death faces jury this Wednesday

The Jury Court will decide whether caretaker Alex Roberto de Queiroz Silva, appointed by the State Public Ministry (MPE) as the author of the shots that killed the lawyer on July 5, 2024, will be convicted of the crime.

He is the first of the six defendants to sit in the dock in one of the most high-profile cases in Mato Grosso in recent years.

According to the Public Ministry's complaint, Renato Nery was killed because his actions in a legal dispute over a rural property, located in Novo São Joaquim (448 km from Cuiabá), contradicted the economic interests of the alleged perpetrators of the crime. The prosecution maintains that the murder was planned, financed and carried out for payment.

According to investigations, Alex Roberto waited for the lawyer to arrive at the office, on Avenida Fernando Corrêa da Costa, in Cuiabá, and fired the shots as the victim disembarked from the vehicle. He then fled on a motorcycle. The entire action was recorded by security cameras, the images of which became part of the set of evidence gathered by the Civil Police.

Also according to the Public Ministry, the executor was recruited by Rotam military police officer Heron Teixeira Pena Vieira, appointed as one of the intermediaries of the execution.

During the trial, five prosecution witnesses will be heard: delegates Bruno Sérgio Magalhães Abreu and Caio Fernando de Albuquerque, responsible for the investigations; the clerk Davi Padilha Nogueira; Kaster Huttner Garcia; and Lívia Moreira Gomes Nery, daughter of the victim.

Millionaire dispute

The investigation by the Specialized Homicide and Personal Protection Police Station (DHPP) concluded that the murder was motivated by a legal dispute involving a rural property in Novo São Joaquim.

According to the complaint, the couple Julinere Goulart Bastos and César Jorge Sechi, identified as those responsible for the murder, decided to eliminate Renato Nery after suffering defeat in a process led by their lawyer, which would have caused significant financial losses.

To facilitate the crime, as the Public Ministry maintains, the couple hired military police officers Jackson Pereira Barbosa, Ícaro Nathan Santos Ferreira and Heron Teixeira Pena Vieira. They would be responsible for organizing the execution, recruiting the shooter, intermediating payments and providing the weapon used in the murder.

Julinere, César and the three military police officers remain in pre-trial detention and will also be charged with qualified homicide before the Jury Court.