Marco Aurélio case: family resorts to the STJ after arrest denial
Medicine student was murdered with a point-blank shot in November 2024
Marco Aurélio Cardenas Acosta, morto pela polícia em SP. Foto: Arquivo pessoal
The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP, acronym in Brazilian Portuguese) denied the request for the preventive arrest of military police officer Guilherme Augusto Macedo, accused of shooting Marco Aurélio Cardenas Acosta, medicine student murdered in November last year at a hotel in the Vila Mariana neighborhood.
The denial was a response to an appeal lodged by the São Paulo State Prosecution Office (MPSP), which previously filed for the arrest and had its request denied as well. In accordance with the decision, the case does not meet the requirements of Article 312 of the Civil Procedure Code, which establishes the rules for preventive arrests.
According to the document, “one cannot see a mismatch between public order and Guilherme’s freedom merely as a result of the severity of the disclosed facts, since there is a reduced possibility of criminal reiteration given the new functional assignment of the officer, which allegedly would also have been relieved for duty in order to undergo training with the Military Police due to administrative caution”.
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After this second denial, the student’s family intends to bring the case before the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) through a special appeal. The attorneys representing Marco Aurélio’s parents believe that the case has all the requirements for a preventive arrest, particularly the severe risk to public order. The legal team states that, even in administrative roles, the freedom of the police officer, who still has access to firearms, is a hazard to society and promotes similar violent acts.
On June 19th, Marco Aurélio’s parents, Julio Cesar Acosta Navarro and Silvia Mônica Cardenas Prado, together with Conectas Direitos Humanos, filed an urgent appeal to the UN on the case. In their complaint, in addition to the accountability of the officers involved in the student’s case, the victim’s family and Conectas ask the UN to recommend that the Brazilian State adopt a series of measures to reduce police brutality and offer due assistance to victims and their families.
