TJMS confirms conviction of police officer for murder in Campo Grande

The Court of Justice of Mato Grosso do Sul (TJMS) decided to maintain the conviction of retired civil police officer Luiz Carlos Ortiz, for the murder of Marcelo Augusto Matsubara in 2015, in the city of Campo Grande. Ortiz was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder.

Ortiz’s defense filed a lawsuit seeking a criminal review and the defendant’s acquittal, claiming self-defense. They highlighted the existence of a key witness, Ortiz’s ex-wife, who would have witnessed the confusion that led to Matsubara’s death. However, this witness had never given a statement to the police or judicial authorities.

After receiving legal advice, the ex-wife went to the Notary’s Office of the 5th Notary Office of the District of Campo Grande, where she signed a notarized statement. In this statement, she stated that she witnessed two individuals attacking Luiz Carlos Ortiz at the time of the incident, followed by a gunshot, resulting in one of the individuals falling and the other escaping. However, this testimony was not presented during the trial before the People’s Court.

The ex-wife explained that, due to the presence of her daughter at the time of the incident and the fact that Luiz Carlos was a civil police officer, she did not consider his witness relevant to clarify the facts, and, therefore, never shared what she saw with nobody.

When analyzing the case, the rapporteur of the case, judge Jairo Roberto de Quadros, decided to maintain the conviction of Luiz Carlos Ortiz. He highlighted that the conviction was based on all the evidence presented during the criminal investigation and at the trial. The rapporteur stated that the new evidence presented by the defense was not capable of changing the set of evidence that supported the original conviction.

The decision was unanimous among the judges of the 2nd Criminal Section of the TJMS.

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