[ad_1] A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend has gone into disturbing detail about how he killed her in a shocking court confession.Mario Mar
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A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend has gone into disturbing detail about how he killed her in a shocking court confession.
Mario Marcelo Santoro, who was on trial in Brazil for the murder of Sydney businesswoman Cecillia Haddad, made the shock confession on Thursday.
His admission left Ms Haddad’s family deeply disturbed, prompting them to leave the courtroom on the trial‘s second day.
Startling the court, Mr Santoro took the stand and pleaded for forgiveness as he acknowledged the truth of the accusations against him.
“I went towards her, in an attempt to shut her mouth, but, unfortunately, that was when the tragedy happened. I grabbed her neck, I squeezed it very hard,” he said.
“She fell limp in my arms, I don‘t remember if she hit her head on the floor. I picked her up, desperate, and put her on the sofa … She wouldn’t wake up.”
Mr Santoro confessed that he had entered Ms Haddad’s apartment without her permission in order to retrieve a passport needed for his flight back to Brazil the following day.
He stands accused of murdering the 38-year-old businesswoman after she ended their relationship in April 2018.
It is alleged that he strangled Ms Haddad at her Ryde apartment and disposed of her body in the river.
Despite seemingly admitting to the crime on the witness stand, the trial will proceed until the jury deliberates on the evidence and reaches an official verdict.
Brazilian news outlet Globo reported that Ms Haddad’s mother, Milu Muller, had to leave the courtroom during the harrowing testimony, while Nine News added that her brother expressed disapproval from the front row.
This stunning turn of events followed the testimony of three witnesses who stated that Mr Santoro had previously confessed to the murder.
He even granted explicit permission to one of the witnesses, his priest, to disclose the confession during the trial.
Three Australian police officers travelled across the Pacific Ocean to provide evidence in the trial. NSW Homicide Squad Detective Inspector John Edwards revealed the details of Ms Haddad’s final phone calls before her demise.
Drawing from communication records of friends and family, who were concerned about her relationship with Mr Santoro, Mr Edwards reconstructed Ms Haddad’s final hours. The court heard that she conversed with Mr Santoro and communicated with her mother, Milu Muller, via WhatsApp until 10am on the morning of her death. According to Mr Edwards, she was pronounced dead seven minutes past 10am.
Rio homicide police chief, Fábio Cardoso, testified in court that Mr Santoro had used Ms Haddad‘s cellphone to impersonate her and declare that she was going to “disappear.”
It took five years of setbacks and twists for the trial to finally take place. The initial date in January was postponed after Mr Santoro‘s initial defence team was dismissed.
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