The Murder of Bernardo Boldrini

Bernardo Uglione Boldrini was 11 years old when he disappeared in April 2014 from Três Passos, in northwestern Rio Grande do Sul. Ten days later, his body was found near Frederico Westphalen. The investigation led to the prosecution of his father Leandro Boldrini, his stepmother Graciele Ugulini, and siblings Edelvânia and Evandro Wirganovicz.

Bernardo and the investigation

Bernardo lived with his father, stepmother and a younger half-sister. After he disappeared, authorities investigated the circumstances around his family life and the journey from Três Passos toward Frederico Westphalen. The Ministério Público do Rio Grande do Sul alleged that the killing had been planned and that a sedative was used. Those allegations were tested in the criminal proceedings that followed.

The 2019 jury

In March 2019, a jury convicted all four defendants. The MPRS reported sentences of 33 years and 8 months for Leandro Boldrini, 34 years and 7 months for Graciele Ugulini, 22 years and 10 months for Edelvânia Wirganovicz, and 9 years and 6 months for Evandro Wirganovicz.

The legal history did not end there. The first verdict against Leandro was later annulled after a court found a breach of procedural equality during his interrogation. That ruling required a new jury trial; it did not amount to a finding that Bernardo had not been murdered or that the prosecution could not retry Leandro.

Leandro Boldrini's retrial

At the second jury in March 2023, Leandro Boldrini was again convicted. The jury found him guilty of a quadruple-qualified homicide and false-document offense, and the court imposed a total sentence of 31 years and 8 months.

In February 2024, the Third Criminal Chamber of the Rio Grande do Sul Court of Justice rejected the defense effort to invalidate that second trial and maintained the conviction. This page therefore treats Leandro's 2023 verdict as the controlling homicide outcome.

Separate abuse convictions

Separate proceedings addressed abuse suffered by Bernardo before his death. In July 2025, after an appeal by the MPRS, a state appellate panel increased the penalties imposed on Leandro Boldrini and Graciele Ugulini for torture and material abandonment. Those convictions are legally separate from the homicide sentences and are not added together here into a single invented aggregate term.

Changes in custody and later developments

By 2025, official MPRS reporting described Leandro and Graciele as serving their homicide sentences in the semi-open regime. It also reported that Evandro's sentence had been extinguished in 2024 and that Edelvânia had died in custody in 2025. Those later developments do not erase the jury verdicts recorded in the case.

Timeline

1. April 2014
   Bernardo disappears

   Eleven-year-old Bernardo Boldrini disappears from Três Passos, Rio Grande do Sul.

2. Ten days later
   Body found

   Bernardo is found dead near Frederico Westphalen, and the homicide investigation intensifies.

3. March 2019
   Four defendants convicted

   Leandro Boldrini, Graciele Ugulini, Edelvânia Wirganovicz and Evandro Wirganovicz receive prison sentences after a jury trial.

4. Late 2021
   Leandro's first verdict annulled

   A court orders a retrial after finding a procedural-parity problem in the first proceeding.

5. March 23, 2023
   Leandro convicted again

   A second jury returns a guilty verdict and a 31-year, 8-month sentence.

6. February 29, 2024
   Second verdict maintained

   The state appellate court rejects the defense challenge seeking another annulment.

7. July 18, 2025
   Separate abuse penalties increased

   An appellate panel increases Leandro and Graciele's penalties for torture and material abandonment.

Current status

Solved / adjudicated. Four defendants were convicted in the homicide case. Leandro Boldrini's first verdict was annulled for a procedural reason, but a new jury convicted him again in 2023, and that conviction was maintained on appeal in 2024.