Curitiba trial suspended after defendant's suicide attempt

The trial of former federal police officer Ronaldo Massuia Silva was suspended in Curitiba on Thursday after the defendant attempted suicide while in a holding cell at the courthouse. Massuia is accused of a May 2022 attack at a gas station convenience store that killed photographer André Munir Fritoli and injured seven others.

Defense attorney Heitor Luiz Bender discovered Massuia attempting to hang himself with a sweatshirt while waiting for the final prosecution witness to testify. The attorney alerted police, and Massuia was subsequently treated by emergency services and transferred to the Complexo Médico Penal in Pinhais for psychological evaluation.

Presiding Judge Mychelle Pacheco dissolved the jury council following the incident. While the defense has strongly repudiated claims that the attempt was staged to delay the trial, lawyers for the victim's family noted that the announcement caused panic among those present, recalling the violence of the original 2022 crime. A police inquiry has been opened to investigate the incident.