In the twelve plus years that Ive been living in Brazil there have been several cases where parents and step-parents have murdered their children, until now the most shocking was the 2008 murder of 5-year old Isabella Nardoni, who was thrown from the window of her fathers sixth floor apartment in the Santana district (North zone) of São Paulo. The childs father Alexander Nardoni and her step-mother Anna Carolina Jatobá were subsequently arrested and later convicted of the childs murder. The exact circumstances of Isabella's murder will probably never be known since both Nardoni and Jatobá still maintain their innocence in spite of overwhelming forensic evidence of their guilt and have remained silent ever since.
I thought that this was the most depraved act I've ever seen in my life, however I was absolutely wrong.
The April 4, 2014 disappearance and murder of 11-year old Bernardo Uglione Boldrini in Três Passos, RS has shocked and revolted the entire nation. While it hasn't gained the level of attention in the foreign media that the Nardoni case did, it certainly should have done so if for no other reason than the brutal nature of the murder, the method and motives behind it. There are also a number of other controversial issues involved, not the least of which is the so-called suicide of, Odilaine Uglione, the child's biological mother in 2010, which with each passing day also appears to have actually been a murder too. Bernardo's murder, to my way of thinking, is far more revolting than the Nardoni case in that Bernardo's death was planned and it was motivated by hatred and greed.
On April 4, 2014 Bernardo disappeared from his home in Três Passos. His body was found in a shallow grave in the middle of dense jungle in the city of Frederico Westphalen some 70 Km. From his home. Because of their cold and unattached behavior following Bernardo's disappearance suspicion automatically fell on his father, Leandro Boldrini (a prominent medical doctor and surgeon in the city) and Bernardo's step-mother, Graciele Ugulini, a nurse with whom Boldrini was having an extra-marital affair and who moved in with Boldrini just one month after the death of the boy's mother .
The investigation took a macabre turn of events on April 14, when suspicion also was cast on a close friend of Graciele, social assistant Edelvania Wirganovicz. When questioned by police she admitted having assisted Graciele murder and bury Bernardo's body and she led police to the secluded and remote gravesite. She stated that Graciele had given Bernardo a lethal injection and that the pair then sprinkled Caustic Soda on his body, wrapped him in heavy plastic garbage bag and buried him almost standing upright in the tiny grave. The autopsy found evidence of Midazolam (the same drug used in a recent botched execution in the USA) present in the boy's body.
Worse still, on the night following Bernardo's death Leandro and Graciele were seen at a great festival/party called "The Night Black" in the city of Três de Maio, sipping champagne and merry making as if nothing had taken place, obviously (in hindsight) to commemorate the child's death.
Of course once defense lawyers here in Brazil became involved the stories all have changed and dramatically different versions of what actually happened have been created. This always happens here in Brazil when lawyers become involved, monsters miraculously turn into saints. Boldrini steadfastly maintains his innocence, but no explanation has been yet given for the lies he has been caught in. Presently all three are sitting in prison cells thanks to temporary arrest warrants.
This case is also revolting because it highlights the grotesque failures in Brazilian laws and the judicial system, incompetence of Brazil's child protection agency the "Conselho Tutelar", State Prosecutors and Juvenile Courts, who for the most part protect young offenders and abandon children who are genuinely in need of protection to their own devices.
Bernardo, on his own, sought out the assistance of the Brazilian justice system and reported neglect and abuses that he was suffering at home following the death of his mother. He related that his father had since emotionally abandoned him and seemed to ignore the abuses heeped upon him by his step-mother. Instead of thoroughly investigating the allegations and temporarily removing Bernardo from the home (which SHOULD have been done) the judge, basing a decision purely upon the stature of the father within the community, and without calling upon any of the dozens of people who could have confirmed Bernardo's complaints, ordered the child back into the custody of the father. They now have the absolute gall to deny any guilt in the subsequent death of the lad, which clearly would have been prevented had they gotten off their collective butts, stepped outside their air conditioned offices and done the job that the Brazilian taxpayers EXPECTED they would do. Bernardo's death was a tragedy that had been announced before it happened.
With each passing day new information comes to light that clearly seems to indicate that Leandro and Graciele may have, in fact, been responsible for the death of Bernardo's mother. That her death was to avoid a multi-million divorce settlement resulting from Leandro and Gracieles adulterous affair and that Bernardo was killed in order to recoup the substantial assets that passed to him upon his mother's death and out of Graciele's hatred of the child.
To date police in Três Passos are refusing to re-open the case of the mother's death, saying that it is unnecessary to do so absent "new evidence". They rushed to close the case even before reports from forensic experts were even completed. A lawyer for the maternal grandmother has released a report from the Medical Examiner that states that Odilaine died from a single gunshot wound that entered through the left side of the palate, passing upward and exiting through the left side of her skull. He went on to state details of gunshot residue tests that confirmed the presence of residue on the victim's LEFT hand and the absence of residue on the right hand. The family has confirmed that Odilaine was NOT lefthanded. The Medical Examiner went on to state that, "The presence of residue on the left hand did not, in itself, mean that the victim actually fired a weapon, that it was possible that a weapon was discharged in close proximity to her hand or that it had been raised as a defense gesture". Yet another medical doctor has stated that given the entry and exit wounds and trajectory of the bullet it would be almost humanly impossible for a righthanded person to have fired the shot with their left hand.
Graciele, who has now confessed to Bernardo's death was the ONLY person who was actually present in the consultation room when the so-called suicide took place. This certainly sounds like NEW EVIDENCE to me, compelling evidence at that. However, I don't expect that police are going to now eat crow, state that they rushed to close the case and clear a prominent member of the community of suspicion rather than investigate thoroughly. Had they done so in the first place the case would likely not have been ruled a suicide at all, but rather homicide or at the very least "suspicious".
The depths to which some people have sunk in this country never ceases to amaze me; probably never will.
Rest in Peace Bernardo, you deserved much better than you got in life. You deserved to be loved and protected above all else.
In deepest sorrow,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team
The "almost perfect" murder
Recently, three pages of the facebook (total 300K Likes) that were created for claiming justice for Bernardo were threatened to be removed, and one of them was removed!
That's sad news, and very surprising considering some of the crap that they allow on FB and never remove.
Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team
This is so sad and so typical of Brazil. The upper classes can commit murder and they get away with it. One law for the poor and one for the rich. I have read this so many times. I hope they rot in hell. They took two lives and are ice cold about it. Karma will get them. Only when this stops will crime begin to diminish here . One law for all. RIP little Angel you certainly deserved better than the scum bag father you got.
We are trying to call attention of the international media for this case, maybe you can leave your comments in:
ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1124212
Sad to say that nearly one year after the brutal murder of Bernardo Uglione Boldrini it appears that the lethargic system of justice in the State of Rio Grande do Sul is no closer to bringing his murderers to justice than they were on day one.
With each passing day more evidence mounts that the father and step-mother not only conspired together and murdered Bernardo out of greed, but they also had much more involvement in the supposed "suicide" of Bernardo's mother Odilaine Uglione Boldrini than police are willing to admit. Despite numerous requests made by the lawyer representing Bernardo's maternal grandmother and the Ministério Publico to re-open the investigation into Odilaine's death police in Três Passos - RS still are resisting this with all their might. This begs the question.... WHY??? What are they hiding?
New evidence has surfaced that Leandro Boldrini, a prominent surgeon, was deeply involved in a millionaire corruption scandal in the city involving siphoning off massive amounts of money from the public coffers, yet no charges have ever been brought against him in this crime either.
It appears that everyone involved in this case, from the judge and prosecutor on down have had some kind of illicit dealings with Boldrini in the past, or have gravely failed in their duty to investigate Bernardo's murder and that of his mother; so they are scrambling to cover their butts, all of which is helping the murderers escape the justice that the public is crying for so loudly.
If William Shakespeare thought there was "something rotten in the State of Denmark", he'd be rolling over in his grave if he ever saw just how "podre" (rotten) things are in the State of Rio Grande do Sul.
Cheers,
James Expat-blog Experts Team
I have no words to define what is going on in Tres Passos !!! The main involved in killing Bernardo are in jail, but sure there are others that should also be also. Most of the news about the case I have from groups in Facebook that are digging for justice.
As the father of 5 my heart is still broken over this case. I can't think about it or read any of the news without crying, without absolute outrage over the lack of justice, delays and absolute stonewalling on the part of the Policia Civil in Três Passos to reopen the investigation of Bernardo's mother's death, which I am convinced was murder too.
I have been looking at probably the same FB pages as you have and my anger and outrage doesn't stop growing. Leandro Boldrini was obviously involved in much more than just the death of Bernardo, and possibly his mother... he was clearly involved in a lot of very shady deals in and around Três Passos, it appears that a lot of powerful people, many connected directly to the justice system, were involved up to their necks right alongside him and this is why he is being treated with kid gloves. These individuals don't want to end up behind bars along with these murderers.
Cheers,
James
Bernardo was murdered exactly one year ago today. Sad to say that none of the 4 accused of his brutal murder are any closer to standing trial than they were a year ago. Justice delayed is justice denied... wake up Brazil, this has to change.
Rest in Peace Bernardo you will not be forgotten.
Like Lambs to the Slaughter
How long will children in this country have to wait before the Brazilian government begins to take seriously its obligation to protect them?
I've never seen a country where children are being murdered in such alarming numbers, and it's often their parents doing the killing. The very same people who brought them into this world, who are supposed to love them, provide for them, educate them and protect them are the ones killing them in the most brutal ways. Names like Isabella Nardoni, Igor and João Vitor Rodrigues, Joaquim Ponte Marques, Bernardo Boldrini, and others are forever etched into the annals of Brazilian crime. These children were all brutally murdered by a biological parent or step parent, and in many cases despite some kind of intervention involving Brazil's child protection agency (Conselho Tutelar).
Just yesterday Marília Cristiane Gomes of Ibirité was convicted for the 2014 murder of her two year old son and hiding his body inside her sofa, where it was found four days later. Gomes was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Fair enough, you might think to yourself. That is until you stop to consider exactly what a 22-year sentence actually means in this country. By law, anyone imprisoned in this country must serve only one sixth of their sentence before they are eligible for progression to other regimes of incarceration like temporary work release (i.e. day parole), parole, etc. So, this woman actually will serve just a bit over three and a half years before she is entitled to this benefit, and will likely be set free. Where is the justice in that?
Just last week the body of a young South African boy, 7-year old Ezra Finck, whose mother and stepfather were permanent residents of this country for the past 4 years was found dismembered and crammed into a freezer it the family's abandoned apartment. It is believed that his mother, Lee Ann Finck, and stepfather, Mzee Shabani, have already fled back to South Africa along with their two other children in order to avoid prosecution. This little boy was taken into custody by the Conselho Tutelar following complaints of abuse in June and placed into a shelter for a month. For some unknown reason he was returned to the abusive parents, who shortly thereafter murdered him.
The country was rocked by the March 29, 2008 murder of 6-year old Isabella Nardoni of São Paulo - SP, who was thrown to her death from a sixth floor window by her father, Alexandre Nardoni, who claimed that someone must have broken into the apartment and committed the crime. It still is not know exactly who killed Isabella, whether it was her father Alexandre, or her stepmother Anna Carolina Jatobá. While they were both convicted of the crime and sentenced to 31 years and 26 years and eight months respectively, neither has confessed to their participation or incriminated the other and likely never will. The story made headlines in newspapers all around the world because of its shocking nature.
On September 5, 2008 while the country was still reeling from Isabella's murder, two young brothers Igor Giovani dos Santos Rodrigues and João Vitor dos Santos Rodrigues were killed, dismembered and incinerated by their father and stepmother only one day after having been returned home by the Conselho Tutelar in Ribeirão Pires – SP. The Conselheira Edna Amante literally sent them like lambs to the slaughter at the hands of their father who was angered by the fact that they had been returned after he had put them out on the streets.
On November 5, 2013, 3-year old Joaquim Ponte Marques was killed with an overdose of Insulin supposedly administered to him by his mother Natália Ponte's live-in boyfriend Guilherme Longo. Both the mother and Longo have been charged with murder, yet neither has yet gone to trial because of all the legal maneuvers available to accused criminals in this country. Joaquim's body was tossed into a stream near his home in Ribeirão Preto - SP, supposedly by Longo, he was reported missing and his body was found in the Rio Pardo in Barretos – SP, some 122 Km. from where he was dumped.
Then on April 4, 2014 Bernardo Uglioni Boldrini, of Três Passos – RS, was murdered by his stepmother, a nurse, Graciele Ugulini by a lethal injection of Midazolam, one of the drugs used for executions in the USA. His body was found 10 days later in a shallow grave in Frederico Westphalen some 80 km away. The child's father Dr. Leandro Boldrina, Graciele, and two friends have been arrested and face numerous charges. None of them have yet to go to trial. It now appears that the father and stepmother also had some significant involvement in the 2010 shooting death of Bernardo's biological mother, which was originally declared to be a suicide following a very hurried and completely botched investigation. The case has now been re-opened due to the overwhelming evidence that she too was murdered in her husband's consultation room. Bernardo was virtually abandoned emotionally by the father following his mother's death, and suffered countless abuses from the stepmother. On his own initiative, he went to the Public Ministry Prosecutor's office and sought help to be taken out of the home and placed with a foster family. Despite the allegations of serious abuse at the hands of his stepmother and emotional abandonment by his father the Family Court Judge who was supposed to protect the child simply returned him to the custody of the father. Just one more child that was sent off like a lamb to the slaughter in this country.
While everyone here in Brazil hoped and prayed that finally after Bernardo's death the authorities responsible for protecting children would get their act together and put checks and balances in place to prevent further such tragedies, they have clearly failed to do so and the slaughter continues. Will they learn this time? I really don't think that they never will, despite the current media focus on the grave failings of the Conselho Tutelar and Family Court system in this country. The reason that they won't learn and improve is because the law (Estatuto de Criança e Adolescente – ECA) that is supposed to protect children who are at risk, was fashioned in such a way to offer much more protection to young offenders than to children facing imminent danger. Just like everything else in this country where all moral and social values are upside down.
Our children are screaming for help, but nobody seems to be listening!!!
James Expat-blog Experts Team
Like a lot of people think, more needs to be done in Brazil with regards to child protection. A small observation in the write up however: Ezra Fink's family was from South Africa and NOT NIGERIA. Not that it's too important because evil people abound in all countries and among all people...but for the sake of accuracy.
And I wonder how evil people can get. How could one ever think of hurting such little nice creatures as these kids? Each time I hear these stories, something breaks inside me. And I am a strong advocate of some form of heavy punishment for such violent offenders. RIP young angels!
Hi Lanre2,
Thanks for giving me the heads up on Ezra's correct nationality, just goes to show you even the media here doesn't get things right. I've edited my posting to reflect that he was South African.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I just can't imagine what goes on inside the head of anyone who can hurt a child in any way, let alone murder one. When this hit the news I couldn't help thinking about my son who is just a bit older than Ezra. Matheus just recently turned 8. My tears for this poor little angel start flowing every time I think about him. It's just so sad.
Cheers,
James
Me and my little man Matheus:
I know that what I am about to write here will probably offend some Brazilians, but sometimes the truth hurts. That does not mean, however, that the truth must not be said and for that I make no apologies whatsoever.
I would not want to be a child in this country, and I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. The life of a child in Brazil has no value whatsoever. If they're not being murdered, killed in absurd and preventable accidents they're being killed by the outright neglegence of their parents; parents who probably shouldn't have children in the first place.
Such is the case of poor 5-year old Gustavo Storto of Taboão da Serra in Greater São Paulo. Gustavo fell to his death from the 26th floor apartment where he lived with his mother. His death was the direct result of pure neglegence, a conscious choice to leave her child alone in the apartment for over one hour, while she supposedly went to the nearby CPTM station to pick up her live-in boyfriend. So let's just take a closer look at this tragic story.
Without casting judgement on the mother, Juliana Storto, even having a live-in boyfriend a mere 4 months after separating from the Gustavo's biological father, the thought of electing to leave the child alone in the apartment clearly demonstrated a complete lack of regard for his safety and well-being. We're not talking about some uneducated, poverty stricken woman, living in some favela here; but rather an educated middle-class mother, living in an upscale neighborhood of São Paulo.
She simply chose to leave the child sleeping in the apartment while she went to pick up the boyfriend at the CPTM station. You can bet your bottom dollar this was not the first time either. There were any number of other options that would have guaranteed his safety, but those were all ignored. She could have told the boyfriend to take a taxi or bus from the station, they pass right in front. She could have bundled up the child, put him in the car and taken him with her. I can't tell you how many times I did exactly this with my sleeping children, I can't count that high. She could have arranged for a neighbor to sit with him. She did none of these. Obviously she was more concerned about the boyfriend than with her own child. Sad to say this is all too common in Brazil and results in the death of countless numbers of children.
It's not like she didn't know about the dangers, we see reports on the news and in the papers every single week about children who've been left unattended and alone at home who have been killed in fires, drowned in pools, washing machines, even in toilets and buckets, children are "forgotten" in cars left parked in the hot sun. Everybody here knows of the potential dangers of leaving small children unsupervised even for a few moments; they just don't seem to care. Unfortunately, Brazilians for the most part won't do anything that they are not obligated to do by law. Even though we do have a crime "Abandono de Incapaz" on the books, I can't recall one single case where an irresponsible parent has been charged, let alone convicted in my thirteen plus years in this country. What good is a law if it is not enforced? Brazilians seem to think that laws are meant for punishing wrong-doing, they forget entirely that the primary reason for any law to exist is to deter others from committing the same crime.
This country's judicial system and child protection agencies have a dismal track record in fulfilling their fundimental duty of protecting children. Until irresponsible parents who cause the death of their children through clear neglegence are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, then this problem will continue because other parents just don't give a damn when there are no consequences. First of all NOBODY goes to prison in this country unless they're convicted of a crime which carries a sentence of more than 4 years. Under that they are sentenced to other alternatives such as community service, paying a fine consisting of food baskets, house arrest at the very most. What does that tell the general population, when the death of a child goes unpunished. It tells the public that the child's life meant absolutely nothing in the eyes of the law and those who were supposed to protect him or her.
Worse still were the comments from readers in the media that this was an "accident" or a "mistake", that she will pay for for the rest of her life. Well I'm sorry, but it appears that Brazilians have a dictionary that has definitions that are completely different from ours. An "accident" is something that happens despite ALL reasonable measures having been taken to prevent it. If this had happened while she was sleeping, then yes it could be clearly classified as an accident. A "mistake", forgive me is..."Oops I've just closed the door, locking my keys inside." This woman's act, leaving a 5-year old child alone for one hour and four minutes was criminal neglegence and in any other country she would have been arrested on the spot, charged with homicide and face trial. As far as her paying for the rest of her life, sure she'll suffer guilt feelings without a doubt, but let's be very clear here... it was poor little Gustavo who paid the price. He paid with his life, a life of promise that he was deprived of. As long as such cases are treated as simple lapses of judgement in this country then the death toll will continue to rise.
Now before anyone decides to reply here that I'm just a cranky old man who doesn't know what he's talking about, just a bit of my background history.
I'm 66 years old, and have 4 (now adult) sons and daughters in Canada and a Brazilian son who is now 8-years old. I have been the PRIMARY caregiver for all of them from the day the very first was born. I was "Mr. Mom" long before the movie came out that popularized the term "Mr. Mom." So I do know exactly what I'm talking about, I have lived it for decades. So please, don't come back with the trite response, "You can't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes." I've walked hundreds of miles in those shoes!!! I wouldn't leave a small child alone for an instant and never have. Even when they were babies, if I had to go to the bathroom they were put in their baby chair and I placed it on the floor in front of the open bathroom door where I could keep an eye on them. That's what a responsible parent does, end of story!!!
Wake up Brazil, stop making excuses for irresponsible and neglegent parents. Demand that such conduct be punished to the full extent of the law. Demand that the justice system and child protection agencies do their duty, rather than getting those ridiculous public service salaries for sitting on their fat behinds doing nothing, for the love of God! And for the love of our children!!!
Cheers,
James Expat-blog Experts Team
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