Six children have been killed by family members in Portugal since the start of 2026, part of 26 deaths recorded in domestic violence contexts in just eight months, according to a count by the newspaper Correio da Manhã, based on cases reported in the media.
The toll is already close to the 27 deaths recorded across the whole of 2025 and higher than the 22 recorded in 2024, according to the newspaper's survey, put together by journalist Manuela Guerreiro.
Breakdown of the victims
Among this year's 26 victims are 16 women, four men and six minors, Correio da Manhã reported. The paper described the number of children among the dead as unprecedented, saying that in most cases the young victims were used as instruments of revenge in jealousy-driven family conflicts.
The children killed this year included Elisei, three months old, Kiara, four, Lara, eight, and Bianca, 16. Two newborn babies were also found dead, their bodies left beside rubbish, one in the Azores and the other in Cascais, on the coast west of Lisbon.
A mother's killing in Dafundo
One of the cases counted this year happened in Algés, a coastal town near Lisbon, where a teenager suffocated his mother, Gabriela. Her body was found in the neighbouring area of Dafundo, according to CMTV footage.
Other recent killings
In Viana do Castelo, a city in northern Portugal near the Spanish border, a son set fire to the family home and killed his mother. In Sintra, a historic town near Lisbon, a young man stabbed his girlfriend to death.
A former tax guard officer shot his ex-wife dead in Trofa, a municipality in the northern district of Porto. In Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores archipelago, a man killed his brother.
A deadly August
In the first 16 days of August alone, five people died in domestic violence incidents, Correio da Manhã reported, contributing to what the newspaper called a particularly tragic year for domestic violence in Portugal.
How the count was made
Correio da Manhã's tally is based on cases reported in the media rather than official police or judicial statistics. Under Portuguese law, killing a spouse, partner or close family member is treated as an aggravating circumstance in homicide cases, and such killings are typically investigated by Portugal's criminal police before being prosecuted through the courts.
