On Monday the Portimão Court Public Prosecutor said it had completed its investigation into the suspected murder of Rodrigo Lapa, and asked the Investigating Judge that the case be delegated to Brazilian courts.The transfer of the criminal procedure was granted under the Extradition Convention between the Member States of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, given that the man suspected of Rodrigo Lapa’s murder – his stepfather – is a Brazilian national and resides in Brazil.


The facts date back to February 2016, when Rodrigo Lapa was 15- years-old, and was found dead near the house where he lived in Portimão.


According to Lusa News Agency, the Portuguese prosecutor’s investigation concluded that it was the stepfather who killed Rodrigo Lapa in February 2016.


The defendant, Joaquim Lara Pinto, of Brazilian nationality, travelled to Brazil days after the crime, where he currently resides.
It is now up to Brazilian authorities to eventually arrest the accused, bring the final charges and conduct the trial, once the investigation is completed.


Rodrigo Lapa disappeared just over three years ago on 22 February, 2016. His body was found a week later, on 2 March, on a plot of land near the house where he lived with his mother, his stepfather and baby sister.


The young man’s body was found in a remote spot near the residence, between the Vendas and Malheiro neighbourhoods, next to one of the main in-roads into the city of Portimão.


The Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s investigation also concluded that the mother of the young man, heard during the investigation by the PJ Police always in the capacity of witness, had nothing to do with the disappearance and death of the child.


The teen had been attending a cooking course in the nearby town of Lagoa, and had missed classes for three days before his mother informed the authorities of his disappearance on 22 February.


The public prosecutor said Monday that Brazil had accepted the transfer of criminal proceedings.