Twenty-three-year-old Portuguese national Ricardo Teixeira was left brain dead and died a week later at Faro Hospital following head injuries sustained in an altercation at Matt’s Bar in Albufeira during the early hours of 7 July 2011.
British national John Hodgson is accused by Portugal’s Public Prosecutor of inflicting the injuries and faces charges of physical assault, aggravated by the outcome.
Hodgson, described professionally as a bouncer, is understood to have struck Ricardo Teixeira on the side of the head either with his elbow or his hand, and reportedly left the Algarve almost immediately after the incident happened.
Speaking during final allegations at Portimão court last week the Public Prosecutor said “there is no doubt” that the attack took place but an intention to kill was not proven.
“The physical offence resulted in an unexpected death” the prosecutor said, upholding the original charge.
Fernando Cabrita, lawyer of Ricardo Teixeira’s family, said the panel of judges overseeing the trial should hand down an “exemplary sentence affirmative of the Portuguese justice system”, to the maximum legal limits due to the “violent and vindictive” nature of the assault.
The lawyer said the attack was “violent enough to take a person out and cause all the injuries described in the autopsy and the accusation” and “there is no doubt Ricardo’s death resulted from the attack.”
Hodgson’s defence said the case is “not as straightforward as two plus two equals four” and added the court’s decision should not be to the detriment of the defendant.
Asking for a verdict of simple physical assault, aggravated by the outcome, to “the minimum limits” of legal prosecution, the defence argued that the case should not be used “as an example for the British community or for the Algarve.”
Speaking to The Portugal News shortly before last week’s hearing, Ricardo’s mother slammed the suspect for failing to appear in Portugal for the trial, but said she still hopes “justice will be done.”
“What I really want is my son”, she said, adding “I hope [Hodgson] gets sent to prison, or would at least tell me he didn’t mean to do it.”
Court proceedings were postponed some five times before hearings began, allegedly due to difficulties in notifying Hodgson to appear in court in Portugal.
He will be sentenced next week, on 26 February.