A jury has sentenced Brazilian woman was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison for brutally murdering her gay son.
Tatiana Lozano Pereira never accepted her 17-year-old son Itaberli Lozano was gay, and the pair’s relationship broke down over Christmas 2016.
Lozano had gone to stay with his grandmother after arguments between him and his mother.
But on the day of his death – December 29, 2016 – his mother coaxed Lozano back to the house under the guise of reconciliation.
However, the woman had actually hired two teenagers to assault her son. That day, Lozano was stabbed to death.
The mother would later admit to delivering the fatal stab wound herself, local news site Globo reported.
Investigators accused the mother of murdering her son and burning his body in a cane field near Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Itaberli Lozano’s charred body was found in the field a week after his death. It took a forensics team to identify him.
Mother admits murder but denies homophobic motive
During the trial in Brazil, Pereira admitted killing her son but denied a homophobic motive.
She said the pair’s arguments were about him bringing men home and using drugs.
Pereira also initially claimed self defense, but police found evidence she had hired the teenagers to assault her son days earlier.
The teenager’s paternal uncle Dario Rosa said Pereira claims weren’t consistent with Lozano’s demeanor.
“He had a job, he was very polite, [and] he never quarrelled with anyone,” he said, according to local media.
“He only had problems with his mother, who did not accept that he was a homosexual.
Two days before he was killed, Itaberli had posted on social media that his mother had attacked him for being gay.
Pereira was convicted of murder and concealing a body and sentenced to 25 years and eight months in prison.
The two men who assaulted Lozano are expected to serve 21 years and 8 months in prison in Brazil.
Itaberli’s stepfather Alex Pereira will also face court at a later date for his role in concealing Lozano’s body.
Hate violence on the rise in Brazil
Human rights groups in Brazil report that violent deaths of LGBT people in the country are at an all-time high.
Early last year, it was reported Brazil has the highest LGBT murder rate in the world.
The 380 confirmed murders in 2017 alone represented an increase of 30% on the previous year.
For the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
