Anna Carolina Jatobá

Case record: Anna Carolina Jatobá

Background

Anna Carolina Jatobá was the stepmother of Isabella de Oliveira Nardoni. Alexandre Nardoni was Isabella’s father. Jatobá and Alexandre Nardoni had two sons together, Pietro and Cauã.

The relationship between Alexandre Nardoni and Isabella’s mother, Ana Carolina Cunha de Oliveira, deteriorated while Ana Carolina was pregnant. Ana Carolina chose to live with her daughter in her parents’ house. Eleven months after Isabella’s birth, Ana Carolina left Alexandre when she was very sure and convinced that he was cheating on her.

Alexandre had met Jatobá when they were in school, and they dated for three years. After Isabella’s birth, Alexandre began seeing Jatobá while also having a relationship with Ana Carolina. This continued for a year until Ana Carolina dumped Alexandre after she was convinced he was cheating on her.

After Isabella’s murder, Oliveira claimed that Jatobá was very jealous of her past with Nardoni. After some time, Jatobá took over talking with Oliveira about Isabella, instead of Nardoni. Oliveira also said that Nardoni’s family avoided leaving Isabella with her stepmother and that when Nardoni wasn’t around, his sister would sleep with the family.

A neighbor told police that Isabella’s paternal grandmother told her that Jatobá was crazy and was capable of someday dropping the girl from the apartment.

A friend of Oliveira, who chose to remain anonymous, told press that Isabella sometimes came back from Nardoni’s house crying and that she often wanted to go back to her mother earlier than expected.

The offence

Isabella de Oliveira Nardoni, a five-year-old Brazilian girl, fell from the sixth floor of Edifício London on the night of Saturday, March 29, 2008. She was found suffering from cardiac arrest in the front garden of Edifício London. Rescue personnel tried to resuscitate her for 34 minutes, but were unsuccessful. She died on the way to the hospital.

Investigators suggested that Isabella was thrown to her death from a bedroom window. Isabella’s injuries were not consistent with a falling death. Only her wrists were broken, and she was still alive, albeit barely, when she was discovered.

The IML (Instituto Médico Legal, or Legal Medical Institute) personnel announced that they found injuries unrelated to the fall on Isabella’s body. The injuries suggested that she had been punched and asphyxiated before being thrown out of the window.

After the discovery, Nardoni and Jatobá were taken to a local police station.

Arrest

On May 8, 2008, Brazilian police arrested Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá. A judge said there was “material evidence” and “concrete indications” that the pair were responsible for the death of Isabella Nardoni on 29 March. The judge said Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá, who denied murder, were arrested to “guarantee public order”.

Leaked evidence described by police included a crowd of onlookers gathering outside the couple’s apartment building while they were taken into custody. Prosecutors believed that Jatobá hit the girl on the head with a blunt object and strangled her. Prosecutors said that Nardoni then threw her out the window, and that the girl died a few minutes after being discovered on the ground.

Police evidence leaked to the press suggested that blood was found in the apartment and that there was a hole in the wire safety netting that covered the window.

Investigation

Investigators found Isabella’s blood in Nardoni’s car and in his apartment, on a towel and a diaper. They also found her vomit on his T-shirt. Footprints of her flip-flops were found on a bed next to the window through which she was thrown. Traces of nylon from the wire safety screen were found on Nardoni’s T-shirt. Investigators also found fragments of the safety screen on a pair of scissors inside the apartment.

Burial

Isabella was buried in the “Parque dos Pinheiros” Cemetery in the São Paulo district of Jaçanã. The service was attended by 200 people.

Nardoni’s account to police

When taken to the local police station, Nardoni told police officers that when he arrived with the family at the building, Isabella was already sleeping, so he went up with her first. He left Jatobá with their sons in the car, placed Isabella in the guest room, turned on the bedside lamp and a lamp in the boys’ room, locked the door and went down back.

Nardoni said that he and Jatobá took Pietro and Cauã to the apartment. When they arrived, he noticed that Isabella’s room’s light was on. He said he didn’t find Isabella in her bed when he returned to the apartment, and that she stayed from five to ten minutes on her own. He noticed the hole in the window’s safety net, looked out and down and saw Isabella’s body on the front yard.

He yelled at Jatobá to call his father, which she did, and then she called her own father.

Oliveira’s account about the phone call and CPR

Isabella’s mother later said in an interview that Jatobá was hysterical when they spoke on the phone, screaming that Isabella had fallen.

According to Oliveira, Jatobá was screaming so much that Oliveira believed Isabella had accidentally fallen into the building’s pool and told her to perform CPR on the child.

Once Ana Carolina arrived at the site and realized how badly injured her daughter was, she refrained from touching Isabella out of fear of worsening her condition. She however often kissed her daughter and told her to be calm, that everything was going to be all right, and that she loved her.

Isabella was taken to a hospital, but she died as a result of her injuries.

Indictment

On April 18, 2008, both Nardoni and Jatobá were indicted by the São Paulo Civil Police while still insisting they were not involved in her death.

Trial

The trial of Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá began on March 22, 2010, almost two years to the day after Isabella’s death.

On the first day of trial, Ana Carolina Oliveira testified. She said Jatobá was extremely jealous of her, and that Alexandre had once threatened to kill her and her mother and then vanish with Isabella when Oliveira confronted him over late alimony payments.

Ana Carolina also said that Jatobá was the one to call her on the night of Isabella’s death and screamed to her that it was all her daughter’s fault.

Ana Carolina was later requested by the defense attorney to remain in the court house so she could go under an acareation with Nardoni and Jatobá. She remained in a tiny bedroom at the court house for three more days until a psychiatrist said she was under extreme stress and she was released.

On March 25, 2010, Alexandre and Anna Carolina testified in front of the jury. Both denied having murdered Isabella. Ana cried during her testimony.

Alexandre took the stand at 10:45 a.m and was dismissed at 16:25. Alexandre told the jury that the cops responsible for dealing with Isabella’s case proposed that he admit he had killed the child, saying he could rule the case as an accidental homicide with no intent to kill. Alexandre also claimed he felt humiliated by this and that the police weren’t actually interested in figuring out what had happened in the building the day Isabella died.

Nardoni cried three times during his testimony and said that the day Isabella died was the worst of his life. He said he had lost the most precious thing in his life and that he was unaware of what was going on. He also accused Ana Carolina’s mother of not wanting her to have the child.

He said he didn’t remember having mentioned in his testimony to the cops that there was a third person in his apartment the day Isabella was murdered.

The defense attorney mentioned that someone else had broken into the apartment and thrown the girl out of the window. Nardoni denied that he had seen someone with a gun, wearing black clothes, and that he had locked Isabella in the apartment.

Nardoni shocked the audience and jury after being questioned by DA Francisco Cembranelli on why he didn’t think of helping Isabella. Nardoni first said that he was making sure she was alive. Cembranelli said she was, and insisted. Nardoni then said he was in shock. After Cembranelli asked for a third time why he didn’t think of trying to do anything to help the girl, Nardoni finally answered that when he became aware of what was going on, a neighbor ordered him not to touch Isabella.

Another moment occurred when Cembranelli asked why Nardoni hadn’t spoken to Oliveira during Isabella’s funeral and wake. Nardoni answered it was an embarrassing situation.

After a lunch break, it was Jatobá’s turn. She spoke until a quarter to nine p.m. During her testimony, Jatobá said that the accusations against her and Nardoni were completely false. She also gave more details about the family’s relationship with Isabella. She said that the girl was very attached to her.

Jatobá admitted that when she was being questioned by the police, she had “embellished” and “made up” stories such as being beat up by her father. In their testimony, Jatobá and Nardoni contradicted each other on their fights: Nardoni claimed they had normal fights, while Jatobá admitted they fought constantly and very nastily.

After a five-day-long trial, in the early hours of March, 27th, 2010, Alexandre Nardoni was sentenced to 31 years, 1 month and 10 days of imprisonment, and Anna Carolina Jatobá was sentenced to 26 years and 8 months for Isabella’s death.

The sentencing counted against both the fact that Isabella was less than 14 when she was murdered. It also weighted the fact that Nardoni was Isabella’s father against Nardoni.

Nardoni and Jatobá were also convicted of procedural fraud to 8 months of imprisonment for trying to clean up the crime scene. Under Brazilian law, both sentences were to be served concurrently. During the sentence reading, Nardoni was expressionless while Jatobá cried.

Sentencing

Anna Carolina Jatobá received a sentence of 26 years and 8 months for Isabella’s death. She was also convicted of procedural fraud to 8 months of imprisonment for trying to clean up the crime scene. Both sentences were to be served concurrently under Brazilian law.

Appeals / post-sentencing

Outside the forum, people celebrated their sentence with fireworks. The couple’s defense attorneys said they were going to appeal.

On March 30, 2010, the defense attorney filed a petition for a new jury because Brazilian law says that when the penalty is over 20 years, the convicted person is allowed to go through a new jury.

Timeline

• April 18, 2008 — Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá were indicted by the São Paulo Civil Police while insisting they were not involved in Isabella’s death.
• March 22, 2010 — The trial of Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá began.
• March 25, 2010 — Alexandre and Anna Carolina testified in front of the jury.
• March 27, 2010 — Alexandre Nardoni was sentenced to 31 years, 1 month and 10 days; Anna Carolina Jatobá was sentenced to 26 years and 8 months; both were also convicted of procedural fraud to 8 months of imprisonment.
• March 30, 2010 — The defense attorney filed a petition for a new jury.
• May 8, 2008 — Brazilian police arrested Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá.

Other details

Alexandre Nardoni was described as a lawyer. The case shocked Brazil and received intense media coverage.

Brazilian girl's parents arrested was described with an account of prosecutors beginning questioning later that month.

The pair were held since their arrest in April 2008. They were described as serving their sentences in separate prisons outside São Paulo. They would then be eligible to complete a shorter term for other offences in a semi-open prison.