Three Portuguese living in Angola, Luxembourg and Venezuela died horrifically this week in cold-blooded murders that have yet to see any arrests.
Twenty-five-year-old nanny Ana Lopes was the first to disappear, in the early hours of Monday morning from outside a restaurant in Luxembourg.
On Thursday, police discovered what they believe to be her body on the back seat of a burnt out car recovered in France, very close to the border with Luxembourg.
What happened in the intervening period is now the subject of intense investigation, while forensics have been hampered by the “degraded state of the body”, said TVI24.
Meantime, police in Venezuela are also trying to trace the kidnappers of 45-year-old businessman Fernando dos Santos – who coincidentally survived a previous kidnap ordeal three years ago.
His body was left on the side of a road near the town of Miranda – the theory being that he was “executed” with a single shot to the face.
The youngest victim this week however was the son of a former Portuguese diplomat living in Benguela, Angola.
Twenty-two-year-old Dagmar Borges was shot in the stomach as he tried to help his father after the older man was set upon by two men.
Correio da Manhã claims Francisco Borges had just opened his front door, when the men appeared, demanding money. He resisted, calling out for help – which brought his son running.
As Borges senior was being repeatedly stabbed in the head and arms, CM says the second attacker turned a machine gun on the son “and did not hesitate”.
Dagmar Borges died at the scene, while his father is now interned in hospital.
The attack happened “very close” to the local police station, but for the time being, the young man’s killers have escaped, says CM – describing Borges senior as a former chancellor who worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He retired in 2012 on what CM describes as “the largest pension attributed that year: €6,957 per month”.
