Accused on suspicion of inducing suicide of Sabine Boghici is arrested in Rio

The arrest occurred four days after the Court received a complaint from the Public Prosecutor's Office making Rafael a defendant for the crimes of false imprisonment, torture and induction, instigation or assistance in qualified suicide.

The report was unable to locate the defendant's defense. In the file available for public consultation at the Rio Court of Justice, there is no lawyer appointed in his name.

According to the investigation, Rafael was the companion of Catarina das Graças Stanesco, daughter of Rosa Stanesco Nicolau, known as Mãe Valéria de Oxóssi and former companion of Sabine. After leaving prison in March 2023, Sabine started living in an apartment with Catarina, Rafael and a child adopted by Rosa.

According to the police, Rafael was located in Jardim Botânico, also in the south zone of Rio, after intelligence work by the 9th DP (Catete). He was sent to the prison system, where he will remain at the disposal of the Justice.

In the decision, judge Alessandra da Rocha Lima Roidis stated that there was sufficient evidence of authorship and materiality to continue the criminal action. According to the document, the evidence gathered includes the incident record, expert reports, autopsy examination and statements collected during the investigation.

The judge also states that there is evidence that Rafael was part of Sabine's daily life and participated in a context of intense physical and psychological suffering imposed on the victim for a long period, circumstances that, according to the Public Ministry's complaint, culminated in his suicide.

When ordering preventive detention, the judge considered that the measure was necessary to guarantee public order, preserve criminal instruction and ensure the application of criminal law. According to the decision, the main witnesses are employees and people in the daily life of those involved and could be influenced if the accused remained free.

The investigation into Sabine's death was reopened following a request from the defense of Geneviève Boghici, the victim's mother. Until then, the case was treated as a suicide hypothesis. With the resumption of investigations, the Civil Police began to investigate the possibility of induction and instigation of qualified suicide.

According to the corporation, throughout the investigation, statements, audiovisual records and expert reports were gathered which indicated that Sabine was continually subjected to mistreatment, physical attacks, intense psychological suffering and restriction of freedom.

REMEMBER THE CASE

Sabine was the daughter of art dealer Jean Boghici (1928-2015), one of the country's leading collectors and dealers of works of art. The family managed assets estimated at around R$1 billion, according to inventory documents.

Before she died, she was facing charges of embezzlement, theft, extortion, criminal association and false imprisonment after being accused of carrying out a million-dollar scam against her own mother, Geneviève Boghici.

According to the investigation, in 2020 and 2021, Geneviève was allegedly coerced into making bank transfers totaling around R$9 million and handing over works of art and jewelry from the family heritage. The loss was estimated, at the time, at R$720 million.

Among the works negotiated was Sol Poente (1929), by Tarsila do Amaral. The painting was recovered by police during investigations, as were 12 other works. Three paintings had been sold to Malba (Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires), in Argentina.

Sabine remained in prison for around eight months and, since March 2023, has been free. Through her defense, she always denied the accusations and stated that the accusations made by her mother were a reprisal for the dispute over the family inventory and her marriage to Rosa Stanesco.

At the time of the death, the Civil Police reported that there was no evidence of homicide. According to investigators, the apartment was in order, the window remained intact and witnesses reported no unusual movement in the building. The corporation also reported, at that time, that Sabine was experiencing depression.

The investigations subsequently carried out by the 9th DP led, however, to the complaint presented by the Public Ministry, which attributes to Rafael Maia Cardoso participation in a context of physical and psychological violence that culminated in Sabine's death.