Offender José Caruzzo Escafura, known as Piruinha, is scheduled to begin trial, at 1pm this Thursday (25), for the murder of businessman Natalino José do Nascimento Espíndola, in July 2021. The trial, by the 3rd Jury Court of Rio de Janeiro, was initially scheduled for April 9th, but ended up being postponed.
Piruinha, 94 years old, is on trial for qualified homicide. His daughter Monalliza Neves Escafura and military police officer Jeckeson Lima Pereira are also accused of participating in the crime.
Investigations showed that Natalino José was executed by Jeckeson, in an ambush, at the behest of Piruinha and her daughter, because the Escafura family had suffered millions in losses from the victim’s venture.
According to investigations, the two had tried to recover the lost money, without success, and that is why they determined Natalino’s death. According to the Court of Justice, Piruinha’s family has been involved in the exploitation of gambling in the north of the city for decades.
Piruinha was preventively arrested for the murder in May 2022, but since December of that year, he has been under house arrest, after being hospitalized for a fractured femur.
