Court sentences ex-husband who murdered judge in Rio to 45 years in prison

After more than 13 hours of trial, engineer Paulo José Arronenzi, accused of murdering his ex-wife, Judge Viviane Vieira do Amaral, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in an initial closed regime.

The sentence was announced at 4 am this Friday (11).

The crime took place on Christmas Eve 2020, in front of the three daughters, in Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of Rio, while the magistrate took the children to spend the date with their father.

The judge was attacked by surprise with a knife as she got out of the car to leave her daughters with her ex-husband.

After stabbing her 16 times, Arronenzi was caught red-handed shortly thereafter by municipal guards.

According to the Court, the qualifiers that contributed to the increase in the sentence were:

• Femicide, that is, the victim was killed for being a woman;
• The fact that the crime took place in the presence of three children;
• A clumsy reason, since the accused killed her for not being satisfied with the end of the relationship;
• It kind of made it difficult for the victim to defend herself, attacked by surprise when she got out of the car while taking her daughters to meet her ex-husband;
• Cruel means used, since the multiple stab wounds to the body and face caused intense suffering to the victim.

Vinicius Vieira do Amaral, the victim’s brother, was the second prosecution witness to testify in plenary. During the testimony, he explained that Viviane gave up the armed escort in December, the same month that she was killed by her ex-husband.

“He wanted financial compensation. My sister gave him R$640,000. In return, he gave her death. Every time I think of her, I remember the horror scene from the day of the murder. I have difficulty handling knives. He started killing her long before the crime and to this day he continues to kill my entire family,” said Vinicius.

Viviane Vieira do Amaral was 45 years old at the time of the crime. She was a member of the judiciary of the State of Rio de Janeiro for 15 years and worked in the 24th Civil Court of the Capital.