António Luís Costa
| António Luís Costa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 Santa Comba Dão, Portugal |
| Criminal penalty | 25 years imprisonment |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 3 |
|
Span of killings
|
2005–2006 |
| Country | Portugal |
|
Date apprehended
|
June 24, 2006 |
António Luís Costa (Santa Comba Dão, Portugal, 1953) is an ex-GNR soldier and serial killer from Santa Comba Dão, Portugal. He was convicted in 2007 for the murders of three young women between May 2005 and May 2006. He is currently held in the prison of Évora.
Costa's first victim was Isabel Cristina Isidoro, who went missing on May 24, 2005; her body was recovered from the ocean on May 31, 2005. Mariana Lourenço went missing on October 14, 2005, and her mutilated body was found in June 2006. The third and last victim was Joana Oliveira, who went missing on May 8, 2006; her body was recovered from under a bridge based on directions given by Costa. According to Costa, after he had consensual sexual relations with the first victim and asked for a kiss from the second and third victims, he suffocated them when they threatened to tell.
Costa was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on June 24, 2006. At first, he confessed the crimes, both to the police and to the judge conducting the preliminary investigation. He later withdrew his confession and accused an uncle of Lourenço for the crimes. He claimed police coerced him into confessing, an accusation refuted by the PJ. Costa's telephone was tapped, and he was recorded confessing the crimes to his family.
Costa's trial began on July 4, 2007; he was charged with three murders, three crimes of hiding the body, one crime of profaning the body (for undressing a body), two crimes of attempting sexual coercion, and one crime of calumnious denunciation (for accusing Lourenço's uncle of the crimes). During the trial, Costa claimed his innocence and remained silent except for the first and last court sessions.
The Ministério Público asked for a sentence of 25 years in prison, the maximum allowed under Portuguese law, and said the only reason they did not ask for more is because it is not possible. The prosecution said Costa acted on a sexual impulse and that from the start, he tried to be considered insane as a means of escaping trial; however, two psychiatric examinations found Costa to be sane enough to stand trial.
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