A mother has been left devastated after learning that her alcoholic husband had stabbed their six-month-old son to death on Wednesday afternoon (April 9) in Linda-a-Velha, Oeiras.
After leaving his son fighting for his life, the father is said to have gone to a local café to “calmly” drink a glass of Port.
According to the national press, 33-year-old João Barata had called his wife before murdering their son to tell her of his intention.
Emergency teams rushed to the scene after a desperate call from the mother but the baby died soon after they arrived.
It is yet unclear what has led the father to commit the horrific crime.
A neighbour told Jornal de Notícias that she had recently overheard João Barata complaining about being jobless and having to be supported financially by his wife, a “cleaning lady”. They believe “depression and alcoholism” led him to commit the crime.
Witnesses also described how the man had walked into a local café shortly after the murder and ordered a glass of Port, which he “calmly” sipped.
He then asked a customer if he could borrow his phone to call his wife, again to tell her he had murdered their baby.
After returning the phone, Barata allegedly threatened the customer he would kill him if he told anyone where he was.
As he was leaving the café, police awaited him. Although he denied the crime initially, he could not hide the bloodstains on his hands. In court, the man confessed to the murder.
