Brazil’s first ever case of a femicide committed by a woman, who set fire to her partner following an argument, is due to go to jury trial.
Femicide has been a crime in the South American country since 2015 and this is the first time charges have been brought against a woman.
Wanessa Pereira de Souza, 34, is accused of killing her partner, 35-year-old Tatiana Luz da Costa Faria, by setting her on fire at their apartment in the administrative region of Santa Maria, in Brazil’s west-central Federal District, following an argument on 23rd September 2019.
Tatiana suffered burns to 90 percent of her body. She was taken to hospital, where she survived for seven days, but in that time she suffered seven heart attacks and eventually succumbed to her injuries.
Tatiana Luz da Costa Faria (35), who had 90% of the body burned and was found in the apartment where she lived in Santa Maria with her companion Wanessa Pereira de Souza (34) 
34-year old Wanessa Pereira de Souza with her companion, Tatiana Luz da Costa Faria (35), who she allegedly killed in 2019, in the apartment where they lived in Santa Maria
The suspect received burns to 40 percent of her body.
Pereira de Souza is accused of triple-qualified homicide: for a trivial motive, using fire, and femicide, as the crime took place in the context of their intimate relationship.
In a report published in January of this year, lawyer and LGBT activist Luanda Pires explained: “In these cases, the woman is propagating male-chauvinist attitudes identified in the society in which she was raised. When she becomes the active subject in an abusive relationship, she is copying the male role.”
It was announced on 30th October that the case would go to jury trial, but the date for the trial has not yet been set.
Pereira de Souza has since been in preventive detention, as she is considered to be a risk to the public.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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