Two teenage thieves who led police officers to their deaths on a high-speed rail link between Sacavém and Bobadela this week have been released from court pending further inquiries.
Ivandro Borges, 17, and Sacko Cilá, 19, are understood to be “old faces” when it comes to PSP files. They are suspected of involvement in a number of cases – spanning from violent robberies on public transports and in discotheques, to thefts from private houses.
But it is not yet clear whether the horrific deaths of the two young officers on Wednesday will result in any kind of murder charges.
According to newspapers, accusing the men of murder would be “difficult, but not impossible”.
The public ministry would have to prove the youngsters had “attracted the men onto the line, knowing and calculating that the train was about to pass”.
If they had not known the high-speed Lisbon-Porto Intercidades was due at any minute – travelling at speeds of up to 180 mph – a charge of negligent homicide could also be possible.
However, as far as news up until now has suggested, the men were simply running away from police – and their flight does not appear to have been planned.
Indeed, a third youngster is also believed to have been involved and he has yet to be traced.
As the Resident reported yesterday, PSP agents Ricardo Santos, 23 and João Rainho, 26, were killed instantly when the train hit them from behind as they ran along the tracks in pursuit of Borges and Cilá – who they suspected of trying to break into a nearby house.
Leaving court in Loures on Thursday, and ordered to return on Monday, neither young man was prepared to talk to the waiting posse of journalists.
Described as having “hostile attitudes” to the press interest, the young men were met outside the court by friends who “greeted them effusively”, reports Correio da Manhã.
Meantime, the bodies of Ricardo Santos and João Rainho have undergone autopsies and are due to be released to their families for funerals in Elvas and Forte da Casa, respectively, tomorrow.
By NATASHA DONN [email protected]
