Moldovan woman arrested for fatal stabbing of husband in Alentejo after accident claim collapses under forensic evidence

A 41-year-old Moldovan woman is in custody, accused of fatally stabbing her husband in a house shared by several foreign agricultural workers in Alfundão, Ferreira do Alentejo. The victim, also 41, died from a single abdominal wound on 21 June, but the case only moved to an arrest on 26 June after forensic examinations undermined the suspect’s initial statement.

The suspect’s version contradicted

According to the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), the woman told officers that her husband had arrived home on 21 June and said he had cut himself in the abdomen, then fell to the floor and died. The death was initially treated as a possible accident. However, the subsequent medico-legal autopsy revealed a wound caused by a sharp object that was inconsistent with an accidental self-inflicted injury. The PJ’s Southern Directorate took over the case and, based on forensic evidence and witness interviews, obtained an out-of-flagrante arrest warrant.

Living conditions and a history of violence

The crime occurred inside a residence in Rua do Cotovelo that housed several nuclear families of the same nationality, all employed as agricultural labourers. The investigation established that the couple had a documented history of conflict and physical aggression, both in Portugal and in their country of origin. The altercation that led to the stabbing appears to be the culmination of a long pattern of domestic violence.

Judicial steps

On 26 June, PJ officers detained the suspect. She will now be presented to the judicial authorities in Ferreira do Alentejo for a first interrogation, at which the court will decide the coercive measures to apply. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Ferreira do Alentejo is overseeing the inquiry, which remains ongoing to fully clarify the circumstances of the homicide.