Police officers accused of killing a police officer will be tried this Monday.

Alagoas247 - Expert Fortunato Badan Palhares will be one of the people heard during the trial of the four military officers accused of co-authorship in the deaths of Paulo César Farias and his girlfriend, Suzana Marcolino. The jury trial begins this Monday and is expected to last all week.

The defense for military police officers Adeildo Costa dos Santos, Josemar Faustino dos Santos, José Geraldo da Silva, and Reinaldo Correia de Lima Filho will argue that Suzana killed PC and then committed suicide. The prosecution, led by the State Public Prosecutor's Office, is taking the opposite approach and will seek the conviction of the officers.

 "The amount of evidence in the case files attesting to the fact that Suzana killed Paulo César Farias and then committed suicide is astonishing," says criminal lawyer José Fragoso Cavalcanti, who will be representing the military officers.
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The four military officers who appear as defendants in the trial concerning the death of businessman Paulo César Farias have an 'exceptional' rating on their military police records. The records also show that some of the accused were even awarded prizes during their careers for good performance in the force.

Those identified as being involved in the crime were: Adeildo Costa dos Santos, Reinaldo Correia de Lima Filho, Josemar Faustino dos Santos, and José Geraldo da Silva. They were responsible for PC Farias's private security. 

Lawyer José Fragoso, who defends the police officers, stated that he will use information contained in the personnel files of the accused to prove his clients' innocence. "They are exemplary officers who have never had disciplinary problems in the police force," explained Fragoso, adding that two of them continue to maintain a relationship with the Farias family, still working as security guards. 

While José Geraldo works for the daughter of the deceased businessman, Reinaldo works for former federal deputy Augusto Farias, PC's brother. "They suffered a lot during all this time. They were pointed at in the street as criminals, even though they weren't responsible for the crime," the lawyer recalled. 

At the time, Reinaldo and Adeildo were corporals in the Military Police, while Geraldo and Josemar were soldiers. Currently, all are sergeants, with José Geraldo da Silva already retired. “They will say in court what they have already said before. They will have nothing to add. They did not commit the crime,” reinforced José Fragoso. 

José Geraldo's service record includes commendations conferred by the PM's general command at the time, when the officer was still serving in an elite group within the force. His service record also improved, while he was a member of the troop, from 'excellent' to 'exceptional'. 
Reinaldo Correia, on the other hand, was another who was highly regarded by the corporation, having been praised "for his unequivocal demonstration of a high spirit of duty, selflessness, and enthusiasm."

Josemar Faustino, in turn, also received praise for his behavior and performance. Adeildo Costa was awarded medals and his conduct was recorded within the organization as "exceptional." 

The crime occurred in June 1996 and the trial will begin this Monday (06), and is expected to last four to five days.

With gazetaweb.com and the Gazeta de Alagoas newspaper