The Rodrigo Lapa murder inquiry - the 15-year-old who was strangled and dumped on land near his Portimão home - has one key suspect.
Rodrigo’s stepfather is wanted for questioning but he fled to Brazil at the time of Rodrigo’s disappearance leaving the teenager's mother to face police questioning and media scrutiny.
The stepfather, although now in Brazil, is not out of reach of the law and may be the subject of criminal proceedings in Brazil under a judicial agreement between the two countries.
While not commenting on this particular case, the Attorney General's office today clarified that Portuguese prosecutors "can issue a letter of request for inquiry or interrogation of Brazilian citizens," or ask that country for "other assistance" in obtaining evidence.
"When the Prosecutor has collected all evidence relevant to the investigation of a crime committed in Portugal, he can trigger an international mechanism for criminal proceedings" in order to delegate powers to the Brazilian state.
The teenager's stepfather is the prime suspect in this murder inquiry but he can not legally be extradited to Portugal.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the Brazilian State "does not extradite Brazilian citizens, except in the case of naturalized citizens who have committed a crime before their naturalisation or those with proven involvement in a crime."
Judicial cooperation between Portugal and Brazil is regulated by the Legal Aid Convention in Criminal Matters concluded between all members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries in 2005, entering into force in Portugal in 2010.
Assuming this judicial agreement works in both directions between Portugal and Brazil, murder suspect Duarte Lima also could be arrested and charged in Portugal for the death of Rosalina Ribeiro.
Lima currently is at liberty, appealing a ten year sentence in the Homeland case.
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