A 37-year-old mother of two children was discovered dead in her home in Vila Real de Santo António yesterday (Thursday) morning.
Initial reports suggested that Sónia Ribeiro had been shot.
Tabloid Correio da Manhã however has since claimed that the ‘small perfurations’ found on her body may not have been fatal.
“Authorities believe Sónia Ribeiro was killed by strangulation”, says today’s paper.
An autopsy is being performed while all media sources have labelled the killing as 2019’s 14th domestic violence fatality.
Police already have a suspect in custody – a man described as a former boyfriend who regularly made death-threats to the woman.
According to CM, José Santos vehemently denies responsibility, giving a detailed alibi of his movements yesterday morning that is now being thoroughly checked.
But at least one witness has come forwards to say Santos was in touch with Sónia Ribeiro on the morning of her death, and the suspect’s mobile phone – recovered from a rubbish bin near his home – has been reported to have confirmed this.
Early reports suggested that Sónia Ribeiro left the home she shared with her two children in Rua Montemor-o-Novo around 7.30am on Thursday to take them both to school.
Her body was discovered late morning by her 16-year-old daughter who came home from school after the morning’s classes.
