Police, family and friends are at a loss to what led a forestry worker to shoot his boss fatally in the head in Alcoutim yesterday.
According to locals, the brutal shotgun killing had “no logic”.
João Brás, 50, had worked for landowner Fernando Pereira, 48, for “more than 10 years” and, as far as everyone was concerned, the two men were friends. They shared meals and get-togethers and seemed to get along fine.
What led Brás to shoot Pereira as the latter sat on his tractor on Wednesday morning remains a complete mystery.
After killing his employer in the Monte Farelos hunting reserve, Brás is reported to have gone home, had a shower and then called the man’s daughters “to ask for their forgiveness”.
He is understood to have confessed the crime but not given any details as to why he did it.
He then waited for police to arrive at his home in the village of Pereiro to arrest him.
According to news reports, three shotguns were found on the premises, “all of them legal”.
Brás is due to be presented in court today – having still refused to give any details as to his motives.
Meantime, Correio da Manhã reports that Pereira was “one of the biggest employers in the borough” and owned “hundreds of hectares of land”.
