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Ten years after the femicide of , killed at the age of 29 by her ex-partner on February 29, 2016, in , her nephew, Matheus Tavares, states that the pain has not diminished over time. “Our sentence is perpetual”, he summarizes.
Keyla was murdered less than a year after the sanction of Law No. 13,104, of March 9, 2015, which included feminicide as a qualifier for homicide in the Penal Code. A decade later, the violence that took her life continues to claim victims in the state.
In a post on social media, Matheus turned his aunt’s memory into a public outburst. He wrote that even when the calendar doesn’t mark February 29th, memory does. She said that the person convicted of taking her life is free and has had around 700 days reduced from her sentence. But he highlighted that, while days can be reduced, absence is not. Keyla never returns home. And he concluded by stating that, as long as he talks about her, she will continue to live in the memories of those who loved her. He ended with a direct phrase: “He who loves does not kill”.
To ContilNet, he described the last ten years as “forced learning”.
“These ten years were of forced learning. The pain didn’t disappear, it just changed form. We learn to live with absence, but there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t remember. It’s been ten years without my Aunt Vivi’s presence, without her laugh, without the plans she had. Time doesn’t erase, it just teaches you to continue.”
Matheus was eight years younger than his aunt/Photo: Provided
Matheus was eight years younger than his aunt. They grew up together, shared important phases of life. The absence, according to him, is daily.
Regarding the actions of Justice, he claims to respect what was decided in the process.
“Regarding Justice, I respect court decisions and understand that the process followed within the law. There was arrest, trial and conviction. Within what the legislation provides, Justice was applied.”
But it makes a clear distinction between what is legal and what is emotional.
“But for the family, there is a difference between legal justice and emotional pain. No decision will bring her back.”
When commenting on the remission of sentence and progression of regime granted to the convicted person, Matheus recognizes that these are rights provided for in criminal legislation, but admits the difficulty of accepting them.
They grew up together, shared important phases of life/Photo: Provided
“In relation to remission of sentence and progression of regime, I know that these are rights provided for in legislation and are part of the criminal system. However, as a family member of the victim, it is difficult to see this as something fair. For those who have lost someone in such a violent way, there is no reduction in pain, there is no progression of absence. Our sentence is perpetual.”
Acre leads proportional rate in the country
The most recent figures show that the pain experienced by Keyla’s family is repeated in other homes in the state.
With 14 femicides registered in 2025, Acre is currently the Brazilian state with the highest proportional rate of murders of women, estimated at 1.58 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to data from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP).
In the national ranking by absolute numbers, the state appears ahead of Amapá, with 9 cases, and Roraima, with 7.
Compared to 2024, when eight feminicides were recorded, Acre recorded a 75% increase in total occurrences in 2025.
With this result, the state once again reached the peak of the historical series of the last ten years, repeating the levels observed in 2016 and 2018, which also ended with 14 cases each.
Since 2015, the year in which the Feminicide Law came into force, Acre has recorded 122 women murdered in crimes classified as feminicide. The mark of 100 victims was surpassed in 2023, when the total for the decade reached exactly one hundred cases.
Ten years after the crime that marked Matheus’ family, the numbers reinforce that violence against women continues to be an alarming reality in the state.
For him, keeping his aunt’s memory alive is also a form of resistance and alertness.
Because, as you say, some sentences can be reduced on paper. But, for those who stayed, the absence has no end date.
