Kiss Nightclub case goes to jury eight years after tragedy
After eight years and 11 months, this Wednesday (1), the case of the Kiss Nightclub finally goes to the jury, a tragedy that killed 242 people and left 636 injured on January 27, 2013, in the city of Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. All were victims of a fire, which started on the stage, where a band was performing, and soon spread, causing a lot of toxic smoke.
On stage, the Banda Gurizada Fandangueira was performing, when one of the members fired a pyrotechnic device, hitting part of the roof of the building, which caught fire. The defendants are Elissandro Callegaro Spohr, partner of the club; Mauro Londero Hoffmann, also a partner; Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos, vocalist of Banda Gurizada Fandangueira, and Luciano Bonilha Leão, music producer.
The tragedy, which mainly killed young people, marked the city of Santa Maria, known as a university center in Rio Grande do Sul, and shook the entire country, due to the large number of deaths and the strong images. The club had only one unobstructed exit door. Firefighters and people tried, in every way, to open passages by breaking the walls of the house, but the delay in helping turned out to be tragic for the visitors.
Most ended up dying from inhaling toxic smoke, from the acoustic insulation of the ceiling, formed by a flammable foam, incompatible with modern safety standards, which require the installation of structures made from flame-retardant materials.
Since the fire, the families of the young people who died have formed an association and every year, on January 27th, they remember the tragedy, the biggest in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and one of the biggest in Brazil.
The Jury Court will be composed of the Sentence Council, formed by Judge Orlando Faccini Neto, head of the 2nd Court of the 1st Jury of the District of Porto Alegre, and by seven jurors who will be chosen by drawing lots.
Depositions
The forecast is that the work will be divided into morning, afternoon and night, from 9 am. There should be an hour break for lunch and dinner and a rest break for the judges. There will be no breaks over the weekend.
In the testimonies, 14 victims will be heard, indicated by the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul (MPRS), assistant to the prosecution and by the defense of Elissandro Spohr; five witnesses for the prosecution listed by the MP; five witnesses listed for the defense of Elissandro Spohr; five witnesses enrolled for the defense of Mauro Londero Hoffmann, and five witnesses enrolled for the defense of Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos.
Jurors and witnesses will be isolated, due to incommunicability. But while the jurors are in this condition until the end of the trial, the witnesses are released after giving evidence. They will be hosted in hotels and accompanied full-time by court officials.
After listening to the survivors and witnesses, there will be an interrogation of the defendants Elissandro, Mauro, Marcelo and Luciano, who can remain silent if they so wish. At this stage, the prosecution and defense will have the opportunity to present their theses and arguments to the jurors. The total time for this phase of the judging will be nine hours. It will be two and a half hours for the MP and assistant prosecutor, two and a half hours for the defendants' defenses, two hours for the reply to the MP and assistant prosecutor, and two hours for rejoinder.
After the debates, the judges will be asked if they are ready to decide and will go to a private room to answer the questionnaire. The jurors decide individually, with a secret ballot, answering questions formulated by the magistrate, by depositing a ballot in an urn. In the end, the majority prevails.
The jury will be broadcast live on the TJRS YouTube channel .
Text translated using artificial intelligence.
