Mariana Fonseca was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of Diogo Gonçalves
An international warrant only arrived five months after the escape. Nurse wanted by Interpol was seen in Morocco, but now has another whereabouts. The soap opera continues.
Mariana Fonsecaa nurse sentenced to 23 years in prison for the death of a computer engineer in the Algarve, left the country in June without any judicial restrictions in place — and it was only in November that she was included on Interpol’s international wanted list.
The news comes from , which almost five years after the case shocked Portugal, brings new information. In 2020, Mariana Fonseca “acted together” with her girlfriend Maria Malveiro to devise a plan that culminated in the 21-year-old, who had just received 70 thousand euros in compensation for her mother’s death in a road accident. The crime took place in executionerin the municipality of Silves.
Maria Malveiro, Mariana’s girlfriend at the time, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ended up being found dead in jail. In a video, recorded abroad, the now-on-the-run nurse denies responsibility for the crime and apologizes to the victim’s family for running away.
This year, in mid-May, Mariana Fonseca learned that the Constitutional Court’s decision had confirmed the 23-year sentence and that the conviction had become final. The escape would already be prepared, with the help of third parties.
Despite everything, the arrest warrant was only issued by the Portimão Court on July 3 and, initially, it went to GNR and PSP, who tried to comply with the order in Lisbon and Lagos. But the efforts failed: the defendant was no longer at the two addresses indicated to the court.
The Judiciary Police tried to stop the exit from the country, but did not officially have the arrest warrant in their possession at the decisive moment, which was denied by the Court of Portimão. Mariana would have been able to leave Portugal without formal impediments.
Authorities believe Mariana did not act alone. The house in Lagos, the home of the father, allegedly a GNR soldier in the Algarve, was left abandoned, and the rented apartment in Lisbon was vacated even before the court decision was made known. For investigators, this evidence suggests logistical support during the escape and eventual continued support in the location where you are located.
And where is it? Mariana Fonseca has been seen in Morocco. The information, according to the text, will have reached the investigators, although the PJ neither officially confirms nor denies the veracity of the signal. It is even possible that Mariana has already changed country, however.
Mariana received 30 thousand euros for unlawful dismissal from the Centro Hospitalar do Algarve and, after her escape, she asked the European Court of Human Rights for the Portuguese State to compensate her, alleging errors in the trial.
