A Brazilian woman will be taking the stand against her father, who is on trial in the triple murder case of her former boyfriend and his parents.
Paulo Matias is accused of killing actor Rafael Miguel, his father João Alsisio and his mother Miriam Miguel, in 2019 at Cupertino’s home in Pedreira, a city in the southeastern state of São Paulo.
Paulo Matias did not approved of Rafael Miguel’s relationship with his daughter, Isabella Matias. Miguel was 22 years old at the time of the murder and Matias was 18.
Isabella Matias’ request to testify at her father’s trial October 10 was initially rejected by the Court of Justice of São Paulo on Monday, Brazilian news outlet Metrópoles reported.
The court reversed its decision Thursday after it accepted a request from the prosecution, which asked that Paulo Matias be removed from the courtroom while his daughter and her mother Vanesa Tibcherani are grilled by attorneys for both sides.
São Paulo prosecutors Soraia Munhoz said that the request to ban him from the courtroom was based on the ‘well-founded fear and evident embarrassment’ of his daughter and her mother being in the judge’s chamber.
Rafael Miguel and his parents visited Cupertino’s home on June 9, 2019 to talk to him about his relationship with Isabella Matias.
Surveillance video footage showed Paulo Matias shooting Rafael Miguel and his parents 13 times in front of the home as his daughter watched in horror.
Paulo Matias fled to the central-west state of Mato Grosso do Sul before making his way to Paraguay.
He returned to São Paulo, where he was arrested hiding in a hotel on May 16, 2022.
Rafael Miguel was best known for his role in the soap opera Chiquititas (Little Ones), which aired on SBT television. He also appeared in three soap operas on Globo television.
In June, Paulo Matias penned a letter to the Court of Justice of São Paulo and asked the judge to consider releasing him from prison.
He claimed that the homicide charges were based on ‘a narrative and facts that do not correspond to the truth,’ in the letter that was obtained by Metropoles.