The Civil Police are investigating a murder in a square in Bento Gonçalves, in the Serra Gaúcha region. The victim is Rui das Merces Alcântara Fontes, 36 years old, stabbed after a fight on Thursday. The suspect is a 42-year-old man who was arrested in flagrante delicto and was remanded in custody. He allegedly confessed to the crime “coldly,” investigators say.
The incident occurred in Praça Doutor Bartholomeu Tacchini, in the city center, around 1:00 p.m. Witnesses say the attacker was urinating on a wall when a woman, accompanied by her young daughter, saw the act and began to argue with him.
A man who was passing by the scene allegedly intervened in the argument. He allegedly slapped the suspect, who retaliated by stabbing him. There are several video recordings of the incident.
The victim suffered injuries to the chest and was treated at the Tacchini Hospital, but did not survive and ended up dying. After the attack, the attacker sat on a bench and waited until he was detained by municipal guards.
According to the account of the woman involved in the incident, the prisoner had shown his genitals to the girl after being questioned, which would constitute sexual harassment of a child. This version is corroborated by other witnesses, but the suspect denies the accusation.
He works as a bodyworker and, upon leaving work, had allegedly consumed alcohol. His criminal record includes charges of threats and bodily harm.
According to the chief of police at the 1st Police Precinct in Bento Gonçalves, Éderson Bilhan, the victim was stabbed at least five times. The prisoner admits to having committed the murder. The investigation is still to determine whether, in addition to the homicide, the suspect will also be charged with sexual harassment or the crime of indecent acts.
"He admits to having committed the crime with impressive coldness, and even confesses that he intended to kill. It remains to be seen whether there was sexual harassment or an act of obscene exposure," said the head of the 1st DP of Bento Gonçalves.
