Defendants in Marielle Franco's Case get Jury Trial, Judge Decides

[Judi Lynn]

Retired PM Ronnie Lessa and ex-PM Élcio Queiroz will be tried for the double homicide of councilwoman and her driver Anderson
Mar.11.2020 1:12PM

Italo Nogueira
RIO DE JANEIRO
A Brazilian judge decided on Tuesday that the two accused of killing councilwoman Marielle Franco (PSOL) and her driver Anderson Gomes will go to a jury trial.

Retired military police officer Ronnie Lessa and ex-PM Élcio Queiroz will be tried for the double homicide and the attempt to kill a former Marielle aide who was in the car at the time of the crime. The murder turns two years old next Saturday (14), and there is still no date set for the trial.

The councilwoman was murdered inside the car, in the Estácio neighborhood (downtown Rio), at around 9:30 pm on March 14, 2018. Her vehicle was shot at while she was returning from a meeting with black women in Lapa.

These images diplayed to journalists during a press conference by Brazilian authorities on March 12, 2019 shows Brazilian military police sergeant Ronnie Lessa (L), 48, and Elcio Vieira de Queiroz, 46, who had been sacked from the military police, both arrested during an operation related to the killing of Rio de Janeiro's councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes a year ago. - Franco's death triggered protests around the world and mass demonstrations in Brazil, but there had been little sign of progress in the murder investigation before Tuesday's arrests. (Photo by HO / HANDOUT / AFP) - AFP

Marielle was in the back of a white Chevrolet Agile with her aide, who suffered minor injuries. At the front was his driver, Anderson, 39, who also died.

More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2020/03/defendants-in-marielle-francos-case-get-jury-trial-judge-decides.shtml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsen









Slain Rio councilwoman killed by militia behind favela land grabs: official
AFP AFPDecember 14, 2018

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - A Brazilian councilwoman assassinated in Rio in March was killed by a militia looking to protect its interests controlling land in unregulated slums, or favelas, in a part of the city, the head of Rio de Janeiro state's public security secretariat said Friday.

Marielle Franco, a high-profile lawmaker and black rights activist who was critical of police violence, was gunned down with her driver on March 14 in what looked to be a professional hit. She was 38.

Her death triggered demonstrations and outrage across Brazil.

Some suspects have been arrested but there has been no major progress in the murder investigation, triggering a federal probe to see if local police were trying to thwart the process.

General Richard Nunes, head of the state security authority, told the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that Franco was active "in a certain area of Rio controlled by militia, where they have economic interests of all sorts."

More:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/slain-rio-councilwoman-killed-militia-behind-favela-land-213157484.html