Word: da
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...accused of killing him -- Darly Alves da Silva, 56, a wealthy Xapuri rancher, and his son Darci, 24 -- were the targets of one of Mendes' last empates, in March 1988. After the confrontation, Mendes, who had allegedly been threatened many times by the elder Da Silva, feared for his life and alerted the police. But on Dec. 22, 1988, Mendes was struck down by a single shotgun blast as he stepped out the back door of his home. His police bodyguards were inside playing dominoes. Mendes...
Meanwhile, justice has moved relatively slowly in Xapuri. Though the Da Silvas were arrested within weeks of the murder, the case was delayed as the defense made a variety of motions and investigators questioned more than 50 people, accumulating some 2,200 pages of statements. Almost all those involved in the case -- including the judge, Mendes family members, seringueiro leaders, the lawyers and the Da Silvas -- have received death threats...
...dozen people expected to testify during the trial, the key prosecution witness is 16-year-old Genesio Barbosa da Silva (no relation to the defendants), a former Da Silva ranch hand. He told police that he overheard the younger Da Silva plan and then boast of Mendes' murder. Several other people have said they heard both Da Silvas threaten Mendes and the seringueiros. And the son confessed to the shooting, although he later retracted the statement...
...that he is preparing an appeal. "It is going to be impossible to have a fair trial," Leal says. "With the eyes of the world on Xapuri, what you are going to witness is two men who had nothing to do with the killing being sacrificed." If convicted, the Da Silvas could receive sentences of 12 to 30 years...
During the past 20 years, the murder or beating of women by their husbands or boyfriends was so common an occurrence that legitima defesa da honra (legitimate defense of honor) became a popular and tolerated legal defense. National murder statistics are not tracked by sex, but according to Matozinho, in Belo Horizonte (pop. 1.5 million) 24 women are killed each year by husbands or boyfriends. Many more cases go unreported. Most of the assailants are never convicted. "Regardless of the real reasons she was killed, the man's defense is always the same: she was seeing somebody else," says Matozinho...