Since the journalist Chico Felitti published the first episode of the series of audio reports “A Mulher da Casa Abandonada”, produced for the Folha de Sao Paulo, a police investigation was opened, a search warrant was carried out and dozens of curious people began to go to the place and publish reports on social media.
The repercussion involves a crime committed more than 20 years ago in the United States. According to information from Felitti, the owner of an “abandoned” mansion in the Higienópolis neighborhood – an upscale region of São Paulo – was accused of keeping a domestic servant in slavery-like work for decades in the US.
Margarida Bonetti, the owner of the house, has continued to live there since returning from North America, before being tried for the crime. At the time, her husband, Renê Bonetti, was tried and served his sentence in the United States.
As Brazil does not extradite its citizens, Margarida was able to remain in the country, despite being wanted by the FBI. Twenty-two years after the investigation, the crime expired and “A Mulher da Casa Abandonada” was not tried.
“It is pointed out that the crime took place in 2000. The crime committed would have been reduction to a condition analogous to slavery, with a penalty of 2 to 8 years. In this case, the offense would expire in 12 years. She could even be prosecuted in Brazil, but the incidence of prescription leads to the extinction of her punishment”, explains Professor of Criminal Law, Yuri Carneiro Coelho.
The images of the exterior of the house show that the land is covered by vegetation and there is a lot of damage in the construction. In the records that show the internal side, it is possible to identify accumulated furniture, personal items and garbage.
On July 4th, the City of São Paulo fined the property R$ 2,189.39 after an inspection found that the place was not clean.
“At the site, it was found that there was garbage and construction materials on the outside of the property, which led to the notification of the owner, in addition to the issuance of a summons to carry out maintenance and cleaning of the place within a period of up to 60 days” , informed the City Hall in a note.
Faced with the situation of the residence and complaints from neighbors, the Civil Police opened an investigation to investigate whether Margarida Bonetti was abandoned by her family — in case she did not stop her mental faculties.
The authorities have since heard from a sister of Margarida, Rosa Vicente de Azevedo, who informed the Police that her sister is well treated, has everything she needs and that she is completely fine in terms of her mental health.
Also according to Rosa’s testimony, the mansion would have been shot after the podcast’s repercussion. Daisy would have temporarily left the place. On Wednesday, however, when the police served a warrant on the property, the owner was at home and even tried to prevent the agents from entering.
The police will verify whether or not the house was hit by a shot after carrying out forensic examination.
Margarida’s son, whose name was not revealed, was also invited to testify, but has not yet appeared at the police station.
Depending on the course of the investigations, the woman could be liable for “exposure to danger” (exposing the life or health of another to direct and imminent danger; article 132 of the penal code) for the accumulation of garbage in the backyard, which generated an incidence of rats. . There is no prison sentence for this crime, but there is a possibility of imprisonment from three months to one year.
In addition, Margarida can also be accused of mistreatment of animals, due to the conditions in which some dogs were found in the residence, according to the delegate responsible for the investigation, Roberto Monteiro, from the 1st Sectional of the Center.
In the most recent operation involving the construction, the Civil Police carried out a search and seizure warrant to investigate the alleged crime of abandonment of an incapable person, last Wednesday (20).
According to delegate Ivalda Aleixo, police officers from the Special Reaction Group (GER) were sent to provide security for the site and the owner during this Wednesday’s operation. “Lots of people there,” she reported.
After the operation, delegate Marcelo Palhares told the CNN that the property has electricity, water supply and basic sanitation in good standing.
*With information from Giulia Alecrim, CNN and Estadão Conteúdo
Source: CNN Brasil
