Young man who killed his father in Tavira sentenced to five years suspended sentence

According to the judge who presided over the panel, a special mitigation of the sentence was applied due to the defendant's age, at the time of the crime he was 20 years old, for having shown remorse, having no criminal record and for his good behavior, before and after the crime .

"The court understood that this was a unique act that will never be repeated," he said, adding that it was decided to give Maurício Cavaco a "new opportunity" under the conditions that he continue with psychological and psychiatric treatment, support from social reintegration services and continue to work.

The criminal sentence for the crime of simple homicide is eight to 16 years, but the special mitigation of the sentence provided for in the law allows for a criminal sentence of between one year and seven months and 10 years and eight months to be applied, he added.

However, the presiding judge of the panel stressed that, although the situation experienced by the young man was bad and the facts were proven, it was proven that the young man killed his father, a crime “for which he will have to be held responsible”.

When Maurício Cavaco's sentence was announced and the abolition of coercive measures, in this case house arrest, allowing the defendant to be released, there was a wave of emotion in the Faro Court hearing, which was filled with friends and family of the young man.

The young man's defense attorney, Elisabete Romão, told journalists on the sidelines of the session that it was a "good and well-considered" decision, stressing that it cannot be passed on to people who, because they are victims of a crime, can take justice into their own hands.

“People have to report domestic violence crimes and prevent the Mauritiuses from existing, which still exist, because it is not only women who are victims, there are men who are victims and their children too,” he pointed out.

The crime took place in December 2023 at the family home, in the village of Várzea do Vinagre, in the parish of Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, when the young man, then 20 years old, allegedly intervened in defense of his mother, killing his father, aged 63.

The young man, who was tried by a jury, admitted to the crime in the first session of the trial , in January, claiming to have been the one to call the national emergency number, although he reported not remembering the moment he struck the first blow and the rest.

At the time, Maurício Cavaco said that he had never thought about killing his father, describing him as a violent person who, for at least the last 10 years, had subjected him and his mother to constant insults, humiliations and threats.

The young man was under house arrest at his aunt's house for almost a year and a half, after having spent three months in prison awaiting the procedures for placing an electronic bracelet.

Jury trials are only possible in cases where the maximum sentence for the crimes in question is more than eight years in prison, and are intended for so-called “blood crimes”.