Brazil News
| RIO DE JANEIRO – Early Saturday morning, Adriana Oliveira, on trial for masterminding the killing of her lottery-winner husband, was found not guilty. The jury's verdict, which stunned those present in the courtroom, clears the way for the young blond widow to inherit half of her late husband's estate—now estimated to be worth over R$100 million reals (about $56 million USD).
Adriana Oliveira (photo: terra.com.br)
After hearing the news that she had been acquitted, the woman who has come to be known in Brazil as “the Mega-Sena Widow,” so named after the lottery of the same name, broke down in tears. Her lawyer, Jackson Costa, also teared up, saying that he had always believed in his client. “The evidence just was not there. The evidence didn't show anything against her,” he told terra.com.br.
The outcome of the week-long trial, which began last Monday, stunned all those present in the courtroom. The family of Rene Sena, who won $52 million reals (about $26 million USD) in 2004 and who was gunned down in 2007 outside a bar near his ranch in Rio Bonito, couldn't believe the verdict. The inheritance will now be divided between Sena's only daughter and the widow.
Prosecutors said that they will appeal the acquittal. “I am convinced that Adriana was the mastermind behind the killing,” said the prosecutor, Priscilla Naegelle. “Unfortunately, the jury wasn't convinced but I hope to convince a jury at a new trial.”
Also acquitted were three other defendants. Besides the widow, Military Policemen Ronaldo Amaral and Marco Antonio Vicente as well as physical education teacher Janaina Oliveira.
According to G1 Rio, a lawyer representing the dead millionaire’s daughter, Renata Sena, who stands to inherit the other half of the fortune, said the woman is angry with the jury's descision and expects it to be annulled.
“We will await the decision on the prosecutor's appeal and look forward to a mistrial,” the lawyer for the daughter told G1. “The decision was absurd. Renata is outraged, her father was murdered. We understand that the jurors were misled, were led to confusion by arguments of the defense lawyers,” he went on.
Had the widow been convicted, she would have lost her right to inherit her half of the R$100 million estate.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Brazilian online news source for this article: G1 Rio/terra.com.br
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