Judge suspends Kiss judgment for Corinthians and Grêmio game

The fifth day of the trial for the deaths and attempted murder of the Kiss nightclub, in Porto Alegre, this Sunday (5), will have an hour break from 17:00, so that judges and others can follow at least the second half of the match between Guild and Corinthians.

The match starts at 4 pm, in São Paulo, with the tricolor from Rio Grande do Sul fighting against relegation to Serie B. The idea was suggested by judge Orlando Faccini Neto, a native of São Paulo and Corinthians, still on Saturday.

“I’ll make it possible, if everyone agrees, for them to watch at least the second half of the game, to relax, and then, later in the evening, we’ll follow,” he said.

The jury for the 242 deaths and 636 surviving victims of the fire takes place in Porto Alegre after some defendants’ defenses asked for relief, questioning whether Santa Maria (RS), the city where the tragedy happened, could guarantee an impartial jury.

Four defendants are charged with murder and attempted simple murder with eventual intent against the people who were at the nightclub in the early morning of January 27, 2013 —Kis partners Elissandro Spohr and Mauro Hoffman, and members of the band Gurizada Fandangueira, Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos (vocals) and Luciano Bonilha Leão (stage assistant, who would have bought the used pyrotechnic device).

This Sunday, the jury heard one person. Tiago Mutti, a civil engineer, whose family members were the first owners of Kiss, went from being a witness, called by Hoffmann’s defense, to being an informant at the request of the Public Ministry. The Prosecutor’s Office justified it by pointing out that he is facing a lawsuit for ideological falsehood linked to the Kiss case.

“I think the Civil Police got many things right, but in other things they were wrong. My family, we were unfairly prosecuted,” he said during his testimony.

Unlike witnesses, informants are under no obligation to commit to telling the truth, and thus cannot answer for the crime of perjury. According to the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul, thus, the testimony of a witness has greater weight.

He told how the works of adapting the building, where there was a training course, to the nightclub were and about the process of selling his sister to Elissandro Spohr — he would have paid with R$ 10 thousand and a used car, model New Beetle , with a value around R$ 40,000. According to him, Spohr said that he would only pay after the license issued by the city hall, as happened.

Mutti also said that the club was not successful, with his family, and that he only returned to the place on December 27, 2012, exactly one month before the tragedy, for a party invited by Spohr. He stated that he thought the club was very good, after another renovation, and that he did not see foam in the place.

In addition to him, one more victim must be heard this Sunday, Delvani Brondani Rosso — just like informants, victims do not have to pledge to tell the truth, therefore, technically, they are not considered witnesses.