The “simulated” car accident that was made to look as if a young mother died after driving her car into a ravine has been revealed to be no more than a calculated act of domestic violence.
Police called to the scene in the borough of Seia last week were initially “left with doubts” as to how the dead car driver – a pretty 38-year-old lawyer with two children – came by her injuries.
They did not appear to be consistent with the accident that left her husband badly injured.
The body of Ana Rita Valério was sent for autopsy, and within 48 hours the case had turned into a murder inquiry, with Ana Rita’s husband Rui considered to be her killer.
If police prove their case, this will be the 37th murder of a wife, girlfriend or ex-partner this year. With over a month to go before the year ends, 2014 will be remembered as a very black year for domestic violence in Portugal. In 2013, 37 women died, and already that was up on 2012.
As commentators said at the time, domestic violence is now Portugal’s most worrying type of crime, “more lethal than road accidents or cancer”.
In this latest case, Rui Andrade has now been detained by PJ police as investigators piece together the horror of Ana Rita’s final moments.
The young woman is reported to have been bludgeoned over the head, first as she drove, and later after her car had skidded down a ditch before the 150-metre drop into the ravine.
Police believe the plan involved taking the handbrake off to let the car fall finally into the ravine, but even then Ana Rita’s attacker saw she was still alive.
It is then believed that he pulled her from the wreckage and hit her “tens of times over the head” until she was “disfigured”.
The motive of the crime appears to be that Ana Rita wanted a divorce.
Her funeral was due to go ahead this (Friday) afternoon at 3pm.
