At the third judicial hearing of instruction and judgment on the death of the girl Ágatha Felix, the accused, military police officer Rodrigo de Matos Soares, and three other witnesses for the defense and prosecution were heard. They testified to Judge Tula Corrêa de Mello, of the 1st Jury Court of the Capital, this Monday (28).
Ágatha was 8 years old, on September 20, 2019, when she was returning home with her mother and was hit by a rifle shot inside a van, in Complexo do Alemão. Among the suspicions is that the shot came from the gun of PM Soares, who denies the accusation.
In his statement, the police officer stated that he does not know which weapon the shot that killed Ágatha came from and that he did not see the van that day. Working at the 1st UPP of Fazendinha, Soares has been away from the corporation since the case. He said that it was customary for the garrison to leave the post early in the evening, as it was a dangerous place.
However, on this day they received an order to remain in that position, but began to receive threats reported by motorcycle taxi drivers in the community. Soares said that two men on a motorcycle fired shots at him and a colleague and that, after firing back three shots, they took shelter in a construction store until the confrontation ceased.
A reconstruction was made by the Civil Police, but without the participation of the police involved. Police officer Élcio Oliveira, also assigned to the UPP, said, via videoconference, that he was not shot by motorcycle taxi drivers and that he only found out after Ágatha’s death.
Another witness heard, Ismael, a resident of Fazendinha, said that he was very close to the group of police from which the shot that killed the girl came and that he would not be able to identify the author of the shot. According to him, there was no confrontation at the place and that two men on a motorcycle passed at the time and the passenger carried an aluminum frame under his arm.
Only after this last session, the judge will decide if the military police officer will go to popular jury.
