Analysis
A Portuguese man killed three people in two days in the United States. The murders may have been premeditated, but the investigation is still ongoing. Daniela Melo, an expert on North American politics, and José Paulino, a former inspector of the Judiciary Police, analyze the clues that could lead to the motivation for the crime.
Two attacks. Three people dead and a Portuguese suspect who was found dead this morning, near a warehouse in Salem, New Hampshire. What led Cláudio Valente to kill first at Brown University and then an old college friend in Boston?
On the SIC Notícias antenna, this Friday, Daniela Melo, specialist in North American politics, and José Paulino, former inspector of the Judiciary Police, analyze the crime that is shocking the USA.
For now, there are not many details about the motivation for the crime, but Daniela Melo considers that these motivations are, presumably, “personal or professional, or both”.
“What we know is that this was well planned, it was well organized, that is, it wasn’t something momentary, it wasn’t just the result of a moment, an episode of madness, this was planned and probably the outcome was also planned”, says the expert.
One of the hypotheses being discussed is whether the more competitive academic environment could, in some way, have contributed to the crime. Daniela Melo states that, as an academic, “there must not be a single academic in the world who has heard this story and who has not thought about this case”.
“There are many possibilities and, unfortunately, there are also many mental health problems, there are many problems, in short, of a personal nature that happen in the academic world. The academic world is, without a doubt, extremely competitive. We know that he was a student who showed immense promise from a professional point of view and that this promise, at least in the world of physics, did not come true. But we don’t know exactly why, we still don’t know why he left Brown, we don’t know why he didn’t finish his PhD”, details the specialist.
The relationship between the alleged killer and the victim, the Portuguese scientist Nuno Loureiro, also remains shrouded in mystery.
José Paulino confirmed his agreement with Daniela Melo’s analysis regarding preparation: “He had ten days, at least, since day 1 [de dezembro até aos crimes]. He is in Florida, he rents an apartment in Boston, he also rents a storage room, he is seen with his car, he has a hotel room down there… He has therefore been circulating for 13 days and went to the places where he committed the crimes, therefore, it is premeditated.”
The former PJ inspector also states that in cases of investigations like this there is often the “temptation to fly”, to look for a “very complex reason”, but that “things are sometimes closer”.
“There is one thing that makes it easier, the criminal procedure. I don’t know what it’s like in the United States, but in Portugal, with the death of the perpetrator, the criminal procedure ends. However, the police, from the criminal police, the FBI, the Judiciary Police, all the police that work in these areas, want to know [o móbil do crime]”says Paulino.
The former PJ inspector points out the fact that there are two cases instead of one, the attack at Brown University and the murder at the home of the victim, Nuno Loureiro, in Boston, the latter being more concrete and directed at just one target.
