Due Process Errors and Justice: The Case of the Killer Nurse in the Algarve

While following the agenda, sometimes one may encounter situations where one says, "No way, this is not enough." In that terrible murder case that took place in the Algarve and made everyone's blood run cold, exactly such an absurd, damaging legal scandal occurred. Before going into the details of the news, let's briefly remember the incident: If you remember, in 2020, 21-year-old young IT technician Diogo Gonçalves was murdered in a grisly manner just to save the money in his bank account, and his body was dismembered and thrown to different parts of the Algarve. One of the perpetrators of this atrocity was nurse Mariana Fonseca, who acted together with her then-girlfriend Maria Malveiro. After lengthy court proceedings, escapes and Interpol pursuit, Fonseca was ultimately sentenced to 23 years in prison. In fact, you may remember that the girl escaped from Portugal and made a video saying "I am innocent, I will not go to jail", and was last caught in Jakarta in March and extradited to the country. So, where does the absurd and infuriating part begin? Exactly in labor law! It's All About One Procedure, Hiding Behind the Error Mariana Fonseca was naturally immediately dismissed by the Lagos Hospital (Algarve Local Health Unit - ULS) where she worked, when it was revealed that she was involved in this atrocity. The hospital management also terminated the contract, stating that the woman had purchased Diazepam ampoules from her workplace to be used in the murder. But there was a very critical detail that the hospital management did not take into account: They could not initiate the disciplinary process and dismissal procedure within the legally allowed period. When the process was delayed, the labor court found this termination unlawful, saying "The dismissal procedure was not followed in time." The hospital management objected to the decision, saying that in the criminal case it was established that Fonseca had abused his access to drugs at work, and took the file to the Évora Court of Appeal. However, the judges' answer was very clear and cold: "A criminal conviction cannot retroactively invalidate a finalized labor court decision because its period has expired. The issue is not the minor or greatness of the behavior, but the employer's failure to impose the disciplinary penalty on time." State to Pay €30,000 Compensation to Nurse Murderer The result? A murderer, who started serving his 23-year sentence in prison, was entitled to receive compensation of 30,000 € due to this bureaucratic incompetence by the state hospital. Of course, the hospital management was absolutely right to fire the woman; But since they missed the bureaucratic calendar and legal deadlines, they had to transfer this money from the public budget to the pocket of a murderer. It is truly surprising to see how the justice system sometimes gets stuck in the rules of procedure and leads to such tragicomic situations. News Source: Natasha Donn / The Portugal Resident (August 3, 2026) — Sourced from Jornal de Notícias & Notícias ao Minuto Photo Source: Publico / Lusa archives (Lagos Hospital archive image)