During his custody hearing, held via video call on Thursday afternoon (19), by the Military Court, Lieutenant Colonel Geraldo Leite Rosa Neto again denied having murdered his wifesoldier Gisele Alves Santana, and insisted on the thesis that she had taken her own life.
In his statement to the judge, the officer stated: “She committed suicide with my gun in my apartment in Bráswhere we lived, on February 18th. That gun was seized.”
He complemented the statement by saying that his personal weapon is currently stored in the CPA-M5 (Metropolitan Area 5 Police Command) weapons reserve safe.
When asked by the magistrate about the conditions of his arrest and whether he had the opportunity to consult a lawyer, Geraldo confirmed that his rights were respected. “Yes, they authorized me to call my lawyer,” he reported.
He described the conduct of the police officers who carried out the arrest as “cordial” and detailed the route taken from his apartment.
Despite not reporting physical or moral abuse by police authorities, the lieutenant colonel complained about the media exposure of the case. He told the judge that he felt embarrassed by the number of reporters and press people in front of the police station and the Internal Affairs Department.
The officer also presented personal questions during the hearing, stating that he takes blood pressure medication and that he has a 20-year-old daughter who is his economic dependent.
At the end of the hearing, the lieutenant colonel’s technical defense requested the relaxation of preventive detentionarguing the “manifest incompetence of the military justice system to enact the invasive measure”.
However, the judge assessed that there were no irregularities or crimes in the way the arrest was conducted and denied the request for release.
Geraldo also went through a second custody hearing in the Common Court, at the Barra Funda Criminal Forum, where no irregularities were identified. The officer remains in preventive custody and detained at the Romão Gomes Military Prison.
Understand the case
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Gisele, 32 years old, was found dead on February 18, in her apartment in Brás, São Paulo. Initially treated as suicide, the case was investigated as femicide.
Geraldo Leite Rosa Neto, Gisele’s husband, who was preventively arrested and charged with feminicide and procedural fraud. According to investigations, there is a set of evidence that contradicts the version of suicide presented by him, including contradictions in statements and possible attempts to manipulate the crime scene.
Images show what the femicide was like
For investigators, the 30-minute interval between the shot heard by witnesses and the police being called may have been used to alter the scene and hide evidence. Furthermore, rescuers identified strange signs at the scene, such as the position of the weapon and the absence of a cartridge, raising suspicions of staging.
The expert reports indicate that the shooting was carried out in a manner incompatible with suicide, and injuries were found on the victim’s face and neck, indicating that he may have been immobilized before dying. There is also evidence that the body was moved after the shooting.
See conversations between lieutenant colonel and Gisele
Read the defense note in full
“The law firm MALAVASI SOCIEDADE DE ADVOGADOS, hired to assist Lieutenant-Colonel GERALDO LEITE ROSA NETO in monitoring the investigations relating to his wife’s suicide, has come forward to provide clarifications.
In view of the recent double decree of arrest of the Lieutenant Colonel for the same facts before both the Military Court and the Common Court, the defense is appalled by the maintenance of the competence of both jurisdictions.
He informs that he was aware of the requests for arrest against him since March 17th, not only did he not hide, but also spontaneously provided proof of address before the Court, the place where the arrest warrant was served, an act which, although clearly illegal as it was issued by an incompetent authority, he did not oppose, having maintained the stance adopted since the beginning of the collaboration investigations with the competent authorities.
Finally, he informs that he has already filed a complaint with the STJ against the decree issued by the Military Justice and that he is studying the handling of habeas corpus regarding the decision of the 5th Jury Court of the Capital.
He reiterates that information and interpretations continue to be disseminated that affect aspects of his private life, often through decontextualized content, causing undue exposure and repercussions that affect his honor and dignity.
Intimacy, private life, honor and image constitute fundamental rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution (art. 5,
Finally, the office reaffirms its confidence in the actions of the authorities responsible for conducting the investigations and reiterates that the Lieutenant Colonel awaits the complete elucidation of the facts.”
*Under the supervision of Carolina Figueiredo