Fan stabbed in Lisbon
Portuguese police havearrested a man over the death of an England fan after the team’s Euro 2004 win over Croatia. The 27-year-old victim, who has been named as Stephen Smith from Wolverhampton, was rumoured to have been staying in the Algarve and visiting Lisbon specifically for matches. Officials have confirmed that he was an official member of the FA. A would-be pickpocket reportedly stabbed him in a street off Rossio Square, Lisbon, in the early hours of Tuesday, June 22. Stephen Smith was taken to São José hospital in Lisbon, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The killing, in Rua Augusta at 4am, followed celebrations after England’s 4-2 victory against Croatia on Monday night. But there is currently no evidence to suggest that this was a football related incident The suspected murderer had apparently been walking up and down the street making attempts to pickpocket throughout the night. The Ukrainian suspect, named as 31-year-old Vadym Abramov, was due to appear in court this week. Although he has no criminal record, Abramov is apparently known to the Portuguese authorities as a pickpocket.
Drowning incident in Algarve
A man aged 51 was found facedown in a swimming pool in Carvoeiro recently after he went missing following a night out to watch the football with friends. In an eerie coincidence, the dead man was also named Stephen Smith. He was visiting the Algarve with good friend Kevin Crook and had planned to travel to Lisbon to watch last week’s England match against Switzerland. He had a son Patrick, living in the UK and was unmarried.
The night before his death, Stephen had bumped into some people from his hometown of Sunderland and then accompanied Kevin back to the villa they were renting. They arrived home at about 11.30pm and Kevin went to bed, assuming Stephen would do the same.
When Kevin woke the next morning, Stephen was missing, so he contacted Mark Colebatch, manager of villa management company, Coleco, who went to the Carvoeiro GNR station to report Smith’s disappearance. After taking a description from Colebatch, the GNR revealed that they had an unidentified body that fitted Stephen’s description. The following morning Mark Colebatch and Kevin Crook identified the body as that of Stephen Smith.
The autopsy revealed that he had died from a pulmonary embolism and then drowned in the swimming pool. The Polícia Judiciária confirmed to The Resident that the circumstances under which Stephen died are suspicious and officers are currently investigating the case.
