A recent forensic reanalysis has upended a 130-year-old poisoning case, exonerating Dr. Urbino de Freitas, a 19th-century physician from Porto who was convicted of poisoning his relatives to inherit the family fortune. Forensic researcher Ricardo Dinis-Oliveira revealed that compounds found in toxicological analyses in the 19th century, which had incriminated Dr. de Freitas, are not present in the body of the alleged victim. "They would have to have been found now, with 21st-century technology," Dinis-Oliveira emphasized, according to Expresso.
Dinis-Oliveira, a researcher at the University Institute of Health Sciences - CESPU, undertook a reconstruction of the historic case. By collecting historical documents and locating the 130-year-old corpse, he was able to conduct modern forensic analyses. According to Correio da Manhã, after discovering the victim's body in a good state of preservation, he obtained authorizations for the autopsy.
The original conviction of Dr. de Freitas was based on toxicological evidence collected at the time, which implicated him in the poisoning of his nephew. He was accused of poisoning two relatives to inherit the family fortune and was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by twenty years of exile, first in Angola and then in Brazil. However, Dinis-Oliveira considers that the forensic specialist who collected the evidence at the time did not know what he was doing. "The 19th-century forensic specialist may not have had a trained eye," he said, according to SIC Notícias.
Dinis-Oliveira explained that the products of putrefaction of a corpse can be confused with many substances. He emphasized that these substances do not disappear over time. "The 19th-century forensic specialist may have thought he had found one thing when it was actually another," he noted. This raises the possibility that the results of the toxicological tests could have been intentionally fabricated or accidentally misidentified.
In reconstructing the case, Dinis-Oliveira told Lusa that he began to suspect flaws in the original toxicological tests. The forensic evidence that once led to Dr. de Freitas's conviction was proven unreliable under current standards. The reanalysis concluded that today, the doctor would not be convicted.
The remains of Dr. de Freitas are interred in a family tomb in the Cemetery of the Ordem da Lapa, the oldest cemetery in the city of Porto. The tomb also houses the remains of the writer Camilo Castelo Branco. According to Expresso, the famous novelist may have asked José António de Freitas Fortuna, a businessman from Rua das Flores, to house the remains in the family tomb.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.