Erica Pereira da Silveria Vicente, 44, was acquitted on 24/3/2025 of aggravated murder and disposal of a body, after a jury agreed with her defense. The verdict came after just one day of trial, following one year she spent in prison awaiting proceedings.
Vicente confessed to killing her 47-year-old boyfriend, Everton Amaro de Silva, on 11/3/2025 in Minas Gerais, Brazil. She maintained that her actions were solely to protect her 11-year-old daughter.
During the trial, Vicente testified that she awoke in the middle of the night on 11/3/2025 to her daughter's screams. She found de Silva attempting to cover the child's mouth, with his clothes disheveled. Weeks before the incident, she had discovered de Silva sending lewd messages to her daughter.
Vicente recounted that upon witnessing the scene, she dragged de Silva into the living room, grabbed a knife, and stabbed him multiple times. She stated his pants were down at the time, which enabled her to act.
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Erica Pereira da Silveria Vicente at the time of her arrest for the murder of Everton Amaro de Silva. *Photo: LA Times* |
Prosecutors initially alleged that Vicente had put Klonopin, a drug used to treat epilepsy, into de Silva's drink before attacking him with a knife and a stick while he was unconscious. However, Vicente denied administering sedatives, claiming de Silva was drunk when he returned home that day.
According to testimony, a teenager heard the screams and entered Vicente's home. The two reportedly agreed to take de Silva's body to a vacant lot in Belo Horizonte. There, Vicente mutilated his body by cutting off his genitals and then burned it. Police linked Vicente to the murder by tracking blood trails back to her apartment in Belo Horizonte, where she surrendered the knife and confessed.
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Erica Pereira da Silveria Vicente (in light-colored shirt) emotional after being acquitted. *Photo: RN* |
Despite her defense, prosecutors argued in court that the brutality of the murder indicated it was committed "not in a blind rage but with cold, calculated premeditation".
Vicente and de Silva had known each other since childhood and had an intermittent romantic relationship. He frequently stayed at her home.
By Tue Anh (based on Nypost, Estadao)
