Joana Cipriano case - Very detailed Supreme Court Report.

[Carana]

An excerpt from Astro's summary of Cristovão's book:


During one of the interrogations, João, who has mood shifts, ends up confessing voluntarily to having beaten Joana, who hit a wall with her head and collapsed dead on the floor. He says he was having s.e.x with Leonor while the girl had been out on her errand, but Joana returned and saw them. She said she would tell Leandro about what she saw. The child tried to run out of the house, but was dragged back in by João and Leonor. Leonor slapped her, and then João also slapped the girl. The child flew against a wall, bumped her head and dropped dead on the floor. He then cut up her body and stored it in plastic bags in the family's freezer. Cristóvão, the detective who is interrogating him, asks some specific questions about the process of cutting. João's answers chillingly detail the process, including correct information about the difficulty in separating certain joints. He also tells Cristóvão that all 4 adults - João, Leonor, Leandro and Carlos - ended up knowing that Joana was dead, as he and Leonor showed the bags in the freezer to Leandro and Carlos when they arrived home, later that evening. João later repeats his confession in the presence of his lawyer, and duly signs it.

The detectives return to Figueira, now with a forensics team, to check whether the information that João has given them yields some traces of evidence. Their discoveries turn out to be much more than they bargained for. They discover the orange flip-flops that Joana was supposedly wearing the evening she vanished. Then they turn the uv light to the wall where João told them the child had hit her head before collapsing dead on the floor.

Her face is clearly 'drawn' on the wall, also two small hands that left a trace that goes down the wall, showing Joana's last movement. They also discover the prints of her hands on the frame of the house's outer door, that were left there at the moment when she tried to escape. João had told Cristóvão how Joana had tried to cling to the door frame, and they had to pull her back in by her legs. Everything is photographed.

On the sofa where allegedly João was having s.e.x with his sister, no traces of bodily fluids were found. But the forensics team detects blood residues on one of the sofa's feet. They also discover several traces of sperm on a bedcover that is on Joana's bed, as well as on the pillows and on the wall next to the bed. Everything is taken by the forensics team, to be tested in their lab.

Hmmm.

One of the problems that I have with that account is that the police went to inspect the house on 22 Sept...


On the other hand, the actions that are part of the reconstitution act are compatible with the blood traces that were collected in the living room (it should be noted that the reconstitution takes place in the living room), as a result of the search and apprehension act that was carried out on the 22th of September 2004 (cfr. pages 173 and 233 and following), which mentions that traces were collected on the floor, near the entrance door, inside and outside, near the interior electrical switch on the right hand side of the entrance door, near the entrance on the left hand side of the sofa, on a pair of trainers belonging to MM [Leandro] Silva that were located between the sofas, on a mop (handle) and its bucket.

And the reconstruction didn't take place until 7 October.


A 7 de Outubro de 2004, a Polícia Judiciária
leva o tio da criança a fazer uma reconstituição do crime, onde este, sendo filmado, explica detalhadamente
como a criança morreu e o seu cadáver foi cortado.
http://www.aps.pt/vicongresso/pdfs/700.pdf

Although he may have made some kind of "voluntary" confession on 22nd, that account from the book gives me the impression that he had confessed all the gruesome details and the police simply went by after to double-check if his account was likely to be true. However, according to the CdaM extract below referring to the events of 24th (and the hearing with the judge, etc), he had initially confessed, but then retracted when his statement was written up, pointed the finger at Leonor and limited his involvement to helping conceal the body on land near the house, but that he couldn't remember where as it was dark.


Segundo apurou o Correio da Manhã, o tio da menina assassinada, João Cipriano, que foi o primeiro a ser ouvido pela juíza (esteve a ser interrogado desde meio da tarde até às 21h30), terá inicialmente admitido o crime, mas depois, quando as declarações foram passadas a escrito, o indivíduo acabou por apontar o dedo à irmã, a mãe de Joana.

“Isso é com a minha irmã” – foi a expressão usada vezes sem conta pelo indivíduo, quando confrontado com questões relacionadas com a forma como se dera o homicídio da criança, remetendo para Leonor Cipriano todas as explicações do caso.

João Cipriano terá apenas reconhecido que ajudou a irmã (a pedido desta) a desfazer-se do corpo de Joana, depois de a menina ter sido morta. Garantiu que o corpo foi colocado num terreno próximo de casa, mas salientou que não sabia ao certo onde, dado que “estava escuro”.

So... it doesn't seem as if his "voluntary" confession of all the details happened before the house inspection. Another reason is that if he had given all those gory chopping up details at the time, the inspectors would have checked the fridge back on 22nd Sept (but they didn't check the fridge/freezer until 15 October).

In effect, arguido AA drew the instruments that were used for the quartering by his own hand (page 1885) – a fact that was confirmed by witness DD – and took part in the reconstitution, demonstrating how he used the saw and the knife, how the two arguidos helped each other, how they proceeded with the cuts, the time that they took, how they bagged the minor’s body parts and how they tried to place them inside the deep freezer. This reconstitution, which is legal and valid because it was done voluntarily by the arguido, was watched by witnesses DD (PJ inspector) and CC8 (pathologist), who also confirmed the manner in which the arguido proceeded with the reconstitution; witness DD further confirmed that the deep freezer that was used in the reconstitution was apprehended at the residence of arguida BB on the 15th of October 2004 (cfr. Pages 578 to 580 and photographs on page 1712 and following).

In other words, it seems to me as if this detailed confession came after the PJ had waved a UV torch around the house.

[Anna]

An excerpt from Astro's summary of Cristovão's book:


During one of the interrogations, João, who has mood shifts, ends up confessing voluntarily to having beaten Joana, who hit a wall with her head and collapsed dead on the floor. He says he was having s.e.x with Leonor while the girl had been out on her errand, but Joana returned and saw them. She said she would tell Leandro about what she saw. The child tried to run out of the house, but was dragged back in by João and Leonor. Leonor slapped her, and then João also slapped the girl. The child flew against a wall, bumped her head and dropped dead on the floor. He then cut up her body and stored it in plastic bags in the family's freezer. Cristóvão, the detective who is interrogating him, asks some specific questions about the process of cutting. João's answers chillingly detail the process, including correct information about the difficulty in separating certain joints. He also tells Cristóvão that all 4 adults - João, Leonor, Leandro and Carlos - ended up knowing that Joana was dead, as he and Leonor showed the bags in the freezer to Leandro and Carlos when they arrived home, later that evening. João later repeats his confession in the presence of his lawyer, and duly signs it.

The detectives return to Figueira, now with a forensics team, to check whether the information that João has given them yields some traces of evidence. Their discoveries turn out to be much more than they bargained for. They discover the orange flip-flops that Joana was supposedly wearing the evening she vanished. Then they turn the uv light to the wall where João told them the child had hit her head before collapsing dead on the floor.

Her face is clearly 'drawn' on the wall, also two small hands that left a trace that goes down the wall, showing Joana's last movement. They also discover the prints of her hands on the frame of the house's outer door, that were left there at the moment when she tried to escape. João had told Cristóvão how Joana had tried to cling to the door frame, and they had to pull her back in by her legs. Everything is photographed.

On the sofa where allegedly João was having s.e.x with his sister, no traces of bodily fluids were found. But the forensics team detects blood residues on one of the sofa's feet. They also discover several traces of sperm on a bedcover that is on Joana's bed, as well as on the pillows and on the wall next to the bed. Everything is taken by the forensics team, to be tested in their lab.

Hmmm.

One of the problems that I have with that account is that the police went to inspect the house on 22 Sept...


On the other hand, the actions that are part of the reconstitution act are compatible with the blood traces that were collected in the living room (it should be noted that the reconstitution takes place in the living room), as a result of the search and apprehension act that was carried out on the 22th of September 2004 (cfr. pages 173 and 233 and following), which mentions that traces were collected on the floor, near the entrance door, inside and outside, near the interior electrical switch on the right hand side of the entrance door, near the entrance on the left hand side of the sofa, on a pair of trainers belonging to MM [Leandro] Silva that were located between the sofas, on a mop (handle) and its bucket.

And the reconstruction didn't take place until 7 October.


A 7 de Outubro de 2004, a Polícia Judiciária
leva o tio da criança a fazer uma reconstituição do crime, onde este, sendo filmado, explica detalhadamente
como a criança morreu e o seu cadáver foi cortado.
http://www.aps.pt/vicongresso/pdfs/700.pdf

Although he may have made some kind of "voluntary" confession on 22nd, that account from the book gives me the impression that he had confessed all the gruesome details and the police simply went by after to double-check if his account was likely to be true. However, according to the CdaM extract below referring to the events of 24th (and the hearing with the judge, etc), he had initially confessed, but then retracted when his statement was written up, pointed the finger at Leonor and limited his involvement to helping conceal the body on land near the house, but that he couldn't remember where as it was dark.


Segundo apurou o Correio da Manhã, o tio da menina assassinada, João Cipriano, que foi o primeiro a ser ouvido pela juíza (esteve a ser interrogado desde meio da tarde até às 21h30), terá inicialmente admitido o crime, mas depois, quando as declarações foram passadas a escrito, o indivíduo acabou por apontar o dedo à irmã, a mãe de Joana.

“Isso é com a minha irmã” – foi a expressão usada vezes sem conta pelo indivíduo, quando confrontado com questões relacionadas com a forma como se dera o homicídio da criança, remetendo para Leonor Cipriano todas as explicações do caso.

João Cipriano terá apenas reconhecido que ajudou a irmã (a pedido desta) a desfazer-se do corpo de Joana, depois de a menina ter sido morta. Garantiu que o corpo foi colocado num terreno próximo de casa, mas salientou que não sabia ao certo onde, dado que “estava escuro”.

So... it doesn't seem as if his "voluntary" confession of all the details happened before the house inspection. Another reason is that if he had given all those gory chopping up details at the time, the inspectors would have checked the fridge back on 22nd Sept (but they didn't check the fridge/freezer until 15 October).

In effect, arguido AA drew the instruments that were used for the quartering by his own hand (page 1885) – a fact that was confirmed by witness DD – and took part in the reconstitution, demonstrating how he used the saw and the knife, how the two arguidos helped each other, how they proceeded with the cuts, the time that they took, how they bagged the minor’s body parts and how they tried to place them inside the deep freezer. This reconstitution, which is legal and valid because it was done voluntarily by the arguido, was watched by witnesses DD (PJ inspector) and CC8 (pathologist), who also confirmed the manner in which the arguido proceeded with the reconstitution; witness DD further confirmed that the deep freezer that was used in the reconstitution was apprehended at the residence of arguida BB on the 15th of October 2004 (cfr. Pages 578 to 580 and photographs on page 1712 and following).

In other words, it seems to me as if this detailed confession came after the PJ had waved a UV torch around the house.

Well done carana.
The sperm and blood on Joanas bed, was never tested? The supermarket lady had Joana tested for abuse when she took her to hospital with a cough .....Neg.
 Its all bizarre to say the least and book guy was one of those present during the reconstruction.

[Carana]

Then, I have another problem.


Her face is clearly 'drawn' on the wall, also two small hands that left a trace that goes down the wall, showing Joana's last movement. They also discover the prints of her hands on the frame of the house's outer door, that were left there at the moment when she tried to escape. João had told Cristóvão how Joana had tried to cling to the door frame, and they had to pull her back in by her legs. Everything is photographed.



Witness CC3, coordinator of the PJ criminal investigation stated that they started to investigate the case 9 days after her disappearance (...) confirmed the [forensic] search, via the Projectina technique, of the traces in the living-room of defendant BB's home , which resulted in the records of the signs photographed in on pp. 896, etc..

A testemunha CC3 , coordenador de investigação criminal da P.J., declarou que começaram a investigar o caso passados 9 dias do desaparecimento da CC (...) onfirmou ainda a pesquisa pela técnica denominada Projectina de vestígios na sala da casa da arguida BB, de onde resultou o apuramento dos sinais fotografados nos autos a fls. 896 ss.

This "Projectina" appears to be a UV lamp (and the description below may not have been the same model as the one in 2004).


Crime Scene Lamp SL-450

The SL-450 is fully portable. No interconnected cables or shoulder packs. Therefore unlimited movement around the crime scene is guaranteed. The Xenon powered light source submits an out-standing light output for general crime scene investigation.

Application

The ideal lamp for physical and/or trace evidence investigation with seven built-in different spectra from UV 365 nm, white light up to 530 nm.

Features

independent of mains supply
Xenon light source
high UV intensity
maintenance-free
robust and lightweight construction
specially designed accessories

New accessories

Telescopic arm for ergonomic securing of evidence
Filter assembly with 3 filters for side light, beam expander:and light reduction to 60 %

http://www.forensictechnology.com/csl-450/

Upon checking what UV torches actually reveal, they don't just show traces of blood:

Ultraviolet (UV) light technologies are used for multiple purposes in forensic investigations, including authenticating paintings and other fine art, authenticating signatures, analyzing questioned documents, illuminating latent fingerprints at crime scenes and trace evidence on clothing, analyzing ink stains, and revealing residual stains of body fluids.

Ultraviolet light analysis and other optical examination techniques are recommended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation guidelines as the first choice to examine biologically contaminated evidence. This is because ultraviolet analysis is not destructive. It allows precise images and preliminary identification of the evidence before other analytical methods, such as luminol or washing solutions, are applied.

Body fluids such as saliva, semen, vaginal fluids, urine, and perspiration give off fluorescent light when illuminated by a source of ultraviolet light, which is a very efficient method for detecting such stains in a crime scene or in objects collected from the scene, such as clothing, towels, bed sheets, or decorative items. Even dried stains become fluorescent under UV light.
http://www.enotes.com/topics/ultraviolet-light-analysis

The fact that this Projectina was a UV torch seems to be corroborated by this (the judge overruling the defence objection that the samples were necessarily blood:

E.VII. Inexistiu igualmente qualquer contradição insanável na motivação decorrente de não se terem entendido como sendo da malograda CC os vestígios recolhidos através da técnica da projectina e o entendimento de serem seus os vestígios de sangue humano colhidos na casa onde decorreram os factos, ou entre esta conclusão e a de que, por acção de limpezas efectuadas pela arguida BB, não ter sido possível apurar o ADN de tal sangue.
Isto porque foi através de muitos outros elementos de prova que se concluiu por ser sangue da menor aquele que foi colhido na casa, em nada se relacionando esses vestígios hemáticos com os colhidos pela técnica da projectina (que faz surgir outros fluidos corporais).
Sendo ainda que apenas poderia existir a alegada contradição caso existissem, por sua vez, elementos laboratoriais que afastassem a possibilidade de o sangue pertencer à vítima, o que não sucedeu.
Não existem, assim, quaisquer factos contraditórios dados como provados quanto a esta matéria.

Sooo... my understanding of this is that on 22 Sept, they went round with a UV torch (which would make any biological traces fluorescent. They must have taken swabs to check for blood (as the forensic report does state that there were traces of human blood and a mixture of human and animal blood found).

I have no problem with that. However, even though some traces of blood were apparently found in the glowing areas, unless they took millimetre-by-millimetre swabs or other highly precise methods of forensic collection (and it would require the forensic report to verify), there is nothing that I can find online to indicate that the whole of the glowing areas were in fact blood, as opposed to, e.g., perspiration with unidentified and undated specks of blood somewhere in these areas.

My initial impression, based on media reports, was of this poor child's bleeding head and hands and pools of blood and all the rest of it, but I'm now somewhat sceptical.

[Carana]

Well done carana.
The sperm and blood on Joanas bed, was never tested? The supermarket lady had Joana tested for abuse when she took her to hospital with a cough .....Neg.
 Its all bizarre to say the least and book guy was one of those present during the reconstruction.

The "sexual abuse" tests aren't in any files that I can find, but from Leandro's press interview two years later. It's not entirely clear to me whether this was verified or whether it was a rumour that he was commenting on. According to that interview, supermarket lady and Joana were close and she apparently left her supermarket business to go to the UK soon after the disappearance (which he found odd).

What might be plausible is that she may have learned that Joana was sharing a bedroom with MM (and I'd have to find where I read this, if ever it's true) which she may have found disconcerting.

Without the forensic report, there is no way of knowing whether there was a positive test for semen on her knickers or just an assumption based on a UV torch (which would also reveal urine) and mens' DNA transferred to her knickers from being in a laundry basket with their clothes.

Seemingly it all came to nothing as they couldn't prove which man's DNA it was anyway.

[Anna]

Then, I have another problem.


Her face is clearly 'drawn' on the wall, also two small hands that left a trace that goes down the wall, showing Joana's last movement. They also discover the prints of her hands on the frame of the house's outer door, that were left there at the moment when she tried to escape. João had told Cristóvão how Joana had tried to cling to the door frame, and they had to pull her back in by her legs. Everything is photographed.



Witness CC3, coordinator of the PJ criminal investigation stated that they started to investigate the case 9 days after her disappearance (...) confirmed the [forensic] search, via the Projectina technique, of the traces in the living-room of defendant BB's home , which resulted in the records of the signs photographed in on pp. 896, etc..

A testemunha CC3 , coordenador de investigação criminal da P.J., declarou que começaram a investigar o caso passados 9 dias do desaparecimento da CC (...) onfirmou ainda a pesquisa pela técnica denominada Projectina de vestígios na sala da casa da arguida BB, de onde resultou o apuramento dos sinais fotografados nos autos a fls. 896 ss.

This "Projectina" appears to be a UV lamp (and the description below may not have been the same model as the one in 2004).


Crime Scene Lamp SL-450

The SL-450 is fully portable. No interconnected cables or shoulder packs. Therefore unlimited movement around the crime scene is guaranteed. The Xenon powered light source submits an out-standing light output for general crime scene investigation.

Application

The ideal lamp for physical and/or trace evidence investigation with seven built-in different spectra from UV 365 nm, white light up to 530 nm.

Features

independent of mains supply
Xenon light source
high UV intensity
maintenance-free
robust and lightweight construction
specially designed accessories

New accessories

Telescopic arm for ergonomic securing of evidence
Filter assembly with 3 filters for side light, beam expander:and light reduction to 60 %

http://www.forensictechnology.com/csl-450/

Upon checking what UV torches actually reveal, they don't just show traces of blood:

Ultraviolet (UV) light technologies are used for multiple purposes in forensic investigations, including authenticating paintings and other fine art, authenticating signatures, analyzing questioned documents, illuminating latent fingerprints at crime scenes and trace evidence on clothing, analyzing ink stains, and revealing residual stains of body fluids.

Ultraviolet light analysis and other optical examination techniques are recommended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation guidelines as the first choice to examine biologically contaminated evidence. This is because ultraviolet analysis is not destructive. It allows precise images and preliminary identification of the evidence before other analytical methods, such as luminol or washing solutions, are applied.

Body fluids such as saliva, semen, vaginal fluids, urine, and perspiration give off fluorescent light when illuminated by a source of ultraviolet light, which is a very efficient method for detecting such stains in a crime scene or in objects collected from the scene, such as clothing, towels, bed sheets, or decorative items. Even dried stains become fluorescent under UV light.
http://www.enotes.com/topics/ultraviolet-light-analysis

The fact that this Projectina was a UV torch seems to be corroborated by this (the judge overruling the defence objection that the samples were necessarily blood:

E.VII. Inexistiu igualmente qualquer contradição insanável na motivação decorrente de não se terem entendido como sendo da malograda CC os vestígios recolhidos através da técnica da projectina e o entendimento de serem seus os vestígios de sangue humano colhidos na casa onde decorreram os factos, ou entre esta conclusão e a de que, por acção de limpezas efectuadas pela arguida BB, não ter sido possível apurar o ADN de tal sangue.
Isto porque foi através de muitos outros elementos de prova que se concluiu por ser sangue da menor aquele que foi colhido na casa, em nada se relacionando esses vestígios hemáticos com os colhidos pela técnica da projectina (que faz surgir outros fluidos corporais).
Sendo ainda que apenas poderia existir a alegada contradição caso existissem, por sua vez, elementos laboratoriais que afastassem a possibilidade de o sangue pertencer à vítima, o que não sucedeu.
Não existem, assim, quaisquer factos contraditórios dados como provados quanto a esta matéria.

Sooo... my understanding of this is that on 22 Sept, they went round with a UV torch (which would make any biological traces fluorescent. They must have taken swabs to check for blood (as the forensic report does state that there were traces of human blood and a mixture of human and animal blood found).

I have no problem with that. However, even though some traces of blood were apparently found in the glowing areas, unless they took millimetre-by-millimetre swabs or other highly precise methods of forensic collection (and it would require the forensic report to verify), there is nothing that I can find online to indicate that the whole of the glowing areas were in fact blood, as opposed to, e.g., perspiration with unidentified and undated specks of blood somewhere in these areas.

My initial impression, based on media reports, was of this poor child's bleeding head and hands and pools of blood and all the rest of it, but I'm now somewhat sceptical.

Great research again.

2006 appeal


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
blood traces appeared on the floor, on the walls, the bucket and mop, on the sole of each toe shoes that were in the room and in a drawer of the cabinet; the defendant John collaborated in a reconstitution of the facts on which you have indicated how the child died ; collaborated yet another reconstitution of rendering the child and by several times mentioned to the PJ locations where the body could be found; in addition to the testimony of those who heard the defendants say that they killed (or that the John Eventually killed) the child. Those traces, second tests carried out, are of human blood and human blood and animal (cfr. fls. 235), and although they were insufficient to ascertain to whom they belong through the DNA MOLECULE (fls. 1780 ss), are revealing that in the living room of the house
http://www.dgsi.pt/jstj.nsf/954f0ce6ad9dd8b980256b5f003fa814/bfaf1cea93ab75fb8025716200388d89?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,cipriano





7 oct 2005

The suspicion of any sexual abuse was, incidentally, a question being asked by many inhabitants in the village of Figueira, when Joana has disappeared. AND in November 2004, sources linked to research began to pass on a message that until then would be "important people" involved in that case.
 However, the responsibility of a small grocery store in that hamlet said at the time when our newspaper that, significantly in April, took advantage of a consultation of the girl at the Hospital of the Barlavento in Portimao, to ask for a medical examination to joana, in order to find out whether she had, in fact, been the victim of rape. The test was negative. Also the two sons of stepfather Joana - Ruben and Lara, three and two years, respectively - were seen by doctors, but nothing was detected in this respect.
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/portugal/suspeita-de-violacao-da-menina


12 oct 2004
However, the woman who lives cohabit with another uncle of joana, Nelson Cyprian, assumed the Judicial Police that "when he went to the house of Leonor and stayed in bed of joana, kept one or two sexual relations with his companion and without condom".  Such a situation could help to clarify how it is that, on some occasions, was  sperm on the bed of Joana.

http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/portugal/judiciaria-escava-na-figueira

[Anna]

Joana Case: Crime of Rape Ignored to Save Money

29th October 2008

Joana Cipriano was eight years old when she was last seen, on the 12th of September 2004, around 20h30. The little girl went on a errand on her mother's behalf to a nearby coffee in the Algarve village of Figueira, and never returned.


Leandro Silva, Joana's stepfather

Joana’s stepfather refused to make an analyses to the sperm found in the little girl’s panties to prove if there was or not a crime of rape. The PJ gave up making the exam in the US to save 10 thousand Euros.

After Joana Cipriano’s stepfather, Leandro Silva, refused to give a sample of his semen for the analysis, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine suggested to the Judiciary Police the making of a DNA test in the US.

However, the ‘indication was not followed’ by the Judiciary due to the values implicated, 10 thousand Euros, as advanced by Correio da Manhã today. The PJ explained to the newspaper that the archival was made ‘because even if it is proved that the sperm belongs to the suspect he can still allege that he cleaned his penis to the child’s panties’.

We recall that the police found in Leonor Cipriano’s daughter panties, semen. Only an analysis would shed light regarding the crime of rape of the Figueira’s child.

Joana’s mother was convicted to 16 years in jail for the crime of homicide of her daughter, jointly done with the brother, uncle of little girl who disappeared in September 2004 from the village of Figueira, in Portimão.

This week follows in court the trial of five elements of the Judiciary Police accused of acts of torture to Leonor Cipriano, in October 2004, which happened during the interrogatories to Joana’s mother with the objective of getting a confession.


in AEIOU Portuguese Portal



By Joana Morais

.http://missingmadeleine.forumotion.net/t3594-joana-case-crime-of-rape-ignored-to-save-money#66407

[Anna]

Found it and you were right Carana

1.12/2005
THE FIVE BRANDS IN HOME
traces, which mark the last day of joana, are numbered from 1 to 5 and were analyzed by technicians from the Laboratory of Forensic Science with appeal to ultraviolet light. Two of these signs are located on the outside of the house. Palm  prints , both of the right hand of the little girl, at approximately 70 inches(5ft 10 ?) from the ground, another 25 centimetres.
 Inside the residence the PJ found three more brands: one for each hand and one that he admits being the face of the girl.
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/portugal/defesa-e-acusacao-recorrem-da-pena

[Anna]

The "sexual abuse" tests aren't in any files that I can find, but from Leandro's press interview two years later. It's not entirely clear to me whether this was verified or whether it was a rumour that he was commenting on. According to that interview, supermarket lady and Joana were close and she apparently left her supermarket business to go to the UK soon after the disappearance (which he found odd).

What might be plausible is that she may have learned that Joana was sharing a bedroom with MM (and I'd have to find where I read this, if ever it's true) which she may have found disconcerting.

Without the forensic report, there is no way of knowing whether there was a positive test for semen on her knickers or just an assumption based on a UV torch (which would also reveal urine) and mens' DNA transferred to her knickers from being in a laundry basket with their clothes.

Seemingly it all came to nothing as they couldn't prove which man's DNA it was anyway.

The supermarket lady had already sold up and moved to UK and had to return for court oct 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nidia, who now works in England, also attended as she took the girl to the school on the first day, as it was with her to the doctor and as helped Leonor demand it, without suspecting anything. "I did everything for her
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She was very attached to Joana by the sounds of it.  I don't think a woman was the perp here, but I do have some ideas.

[Carana]

The supermarket lady had already sold up and moved to UK and had to return for court oct 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nidia, who now works in England, also attended as she took the girl to the school on the first day, as it was with her to the doctor and as helped Leonor demand it, without suspecting anything. "I did everything for her
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She was very attached to Joana by the sounds of it.  I don't think a woman was the perp here, but I do have some ideas.

To check later, but I'm not aware that she was physically in court during the trial. Something somewhere about a (written) statement.

[Carana]

Joana Case: Crime of Rape Ignored to Save Money

29th October 2008

Joana Cipriano was eight years old when she was last seen, on the 12th of September 2004, around 20h30. The little girl went on a errand on her mother's behalf to a nearby coffee in the Algarve village of Figueira, and never returned.


Leandro Silva, Joana's stepfather

Joana’s stepfather refused to make an analyses to the sperm found in the little girl’s panties to prove if there was or not a crime of rape. The PJ gave up making the exam in the US to save 10 thousand Euros.

After Joana Cipriano’s stepfather, Leandro Silva, refused to give a sample of his semen for the analysis, the National Institute of Forensic Medicine suggested to the Judiciary Police the making of a DNA test in the US.

However, the ‘indication was not followed’ by the Judiciary due to the values implicated, 10 thousand Euros, as advanced by Correio da Manhã today. The PJ explained to the newspaper that the archival was made ‘because even if it is proved that the sperm belongs to the suspect he can still allege that he cleaned his penis to the child’s panties’.

We recall that the police found in Leonor Cipriano’s daughter panties, semen. Only an analysis would shed light regarding the crime of rape of the Figueira’s child.

Joana’s mother was convicted to 16 years in jail for the crime of homicide of her daughter, jointly done with the brother, uncle of little girl who disappeared in September 2004 from the village of Figueira, in Portimão.

This week follows in court the trial of five elements of the Judiciary Police accused of acts of torture to Leonor Cipriano, in October 2004, which happened during the interrogatories to Joana’s mother with the objective of getting a confession.


in AEIOU Portuguese Portal



By Joana Morais

.http://missingmadeleine.forumotion.net/t3594-joana-case-crime-of-rape-ignored-to-save-money#66407

What on earth is that about? Why would it have cost €10,000 to do a test to determine sperm and/ or the donor's DNA? Was it done or not in the end?

From the interview with Leandro, it doesn't seem as if anyone really knew what this was about. According to Leandro, they (PJ or press?) said that it was his, then they said it was from Carlos Pinto (presumably MM), then they said it was from Leandro's brother Beto. Then Leandro was told that it had nothing to do with him... a bit confusing.


A.P. – A PJ diz que encontrou cuecas da Joana com vestígios de esperma, concluindo por isso que ela era abusada sexualmente, além de ser vítima de maus-tratos como de resto consta de um outro processo. Como é que isso é possível?

L.S. – Já disseram que os vestígios de esperma eram meus. Depois, diziam que era do Carlos Pinto, que vivia na mesma casa. Chegaram a dizer que era do meu irmão Beto. Mais tarde, disseram-me para estar à vontade, que nada tinha a ver comigo. Fiquei sem saber o que se tinha passado.

A.P. – Mas como podia haver vestígios de esperma na roupa da menina?

L.S. – Também me faz confusão. Não sei. Acho que isso está muito mal contado por parte da Judiciária.
http://www.algarvepress.net/conteudo.php?menu=-1&cat=Regional&scat=Reportagem&id=136

[Carana]

I don't know if Leandro's comments in his press interview were the result of having read the article in the paper (which may - or may not be true), or whether he found out via other means.

7 oct 2005

The suspicion of any sexual abuse was, incidentally, a question being asked by many inhabitants in the village of Figueira, when Joana has disappeared. AND in November 2004, sources linked to research began to pass on a message that until then would be "important people" involved in that case.
 However, the responsibility of a small grocery store in that hamlet said at the time when our newspaper that, significantly in April, took advantage of a consultation of the girl at the Hospital of the Barlavento in Portimao, to ask for a medical examination to joana, in order to find out whether she had, in fact, been the victim of rape. The test was negative. Also the two sons of stepfather Joana - Ruben and Lara, three and two years, respectively - were seen by doctors, but nothing was detected in this respect.
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/portugal/suspeita-de-violacao-da-menina

[Anna]

I don't know if Leandro's comments in his press interview were the result of having read the article in the paper (which may - or may not be true), or whether he found out via other means.

7 oct 2005

The suspicion of any sexual abuse was, incidentally, a question being asked by many inhabitants in the village of Figueira, when Joana has disappeared. AND in November 2004, sources linked to research began to pass on a message that until then would be "important people" involved in that case.
 However, the responsibility of a small grocery store in that hamlet said at the time when our newspaper that, significantly in April, took advantage of a consultation of the girl at the Hospital of the Barlavento in Portimao, to ask for a medical examination to joana, in order to find out whether she had, in fact, been the victim of rape. The test was negative. Also the two sons of stepfather Joana - Ruben and Lara, three and two years, respectively - were seen by doctors, but nothing was detected in this respect.
http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/detalhe/noticias/nacional/portugal/suspeita-de-violacao-da-menina

I have already put that below, with some others extracts.
  I a was  just looking at the news, when I read that her son is very troublesome at school,

[Carana]

Well done carana.
The sperm and blood on Joanas bed, was never tested? The supermarket lady had Joana tested for abuse when she took her to hospital with a cough .....Neg.
 Its all bizarre to say the least and book guy was one of those present during the reconstruction.

I haven't found anything reliable about so-called sperm on the bed, nor even that supermarket lady had actually had her tested for sexual abuse (aside from a press article to that effect). So, no idea about that for the moment.

[Carana]

I have already put that below, with some others extracts.
  I a was  just looking at the news, when I read that her son is very troublesome at school,

Whose son?

[Anna]

To check later, but I'm not aware that she was physically in court during the trial. Something somewhere about a (written) statement.

She did shock everyone when she shouted abuse at Leonor in court