The Murder of Bruno Candé

Bruno Candé Marques was a 39-year-old Portuguese actor and father of three. On July 25, 2020, he was killed on Avenida de Moscavide, in Loures, near Lisbon. The criminal case became nationally significant not only because the killing occurred in public, but because prosecutors alleged—and the trial court later found—that racial hatred formed part of the motive.

Conflict before the murder

According to the prosecution account reported by Portuguese media, Candé and Evaristo Marinho had argued several days before the killing after a dispute involving Candé's dog. Witness accounts and the charging document described racist insults and a death threat directed at Candé during that earlier confrontation.

Early police reporting initially kept motive questions open. That distinction matters: in the first days after the murder, relatives and witnesses described racist threats, while investigators said they had not yet established the motive beyond doubt. The later indictment and trial judgment supplied the stronger legal finding.

The killing and arrest

On July 25, 2020, Candé was again on Avenida de Moscavide when Marinho approached carrying a handgun. Contemporary reports differ in how they summarize the number of shots that struck Candé or were fired, so this file does not rely on a disputed count. What is established is that Candé was shot repeatedly and died at the scene.

Bystanders prevented Marinho from leaving before police arrived. The weapon was seized, and he was detained. Investigators also examined the circumstances in which he possessed the firearm and ammunition.

Prosecution case

In January 2021, Portuguese prosecutors charged Marinho with qualified homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon. The prosecution alleged premeditation, a trivial underlying dispute and racial hatred. Reporting on the indictment described prior threats and racist language as important evidence of motive.

During the trial, Marinho admitted firing at Candé. The legal dispute therefore did not center on whether he had carried out the shooting, but on the criminal qualification, motive and sentence.

Judgment and sentence

On June 28, 2021, the Loures court convicted Evaristo Marinho. The court imposed 22 years for qualified homicide and two years for unlawful weapons possession, combined into a single effective sentence of 22 years and nine months.

The court also found that racial hatred was part of the motive and that the killing was premeditated rather than a momentary loss of control. Portuguese victim-support organization APAV described the recognition of the discriminatory motive as significant in the treatment of hate-motivated crime.

The judgment included civil compensation for Candé's children. Because published reports vary on the way the compensation was allocated or summarized, this archive centers the uncontested criminal outcome rather than reproducing conflicting totals.

Why the motive finding matters

Racial motivation was publicly debated immediately after the murder. Some early commentary denied that racism had been established, while family members and witnesses pointed to the earlier threats. The final trial judgment resolved that evidentiary question for the criminal proceeding by expressly recognizing racial hatred as part of the motive.

This page therefore does not describe racial hatred merely as a rumor, but it also preserves the chronology: it was an allegation during the investigation and became a judicial finding at conviction.

Timeline

1. July 22, 2020
   Earlier confrontation

   Prosecutors later alleged that Marinho directed racist abuse and a death threat at Candé during a dispute in Moscavide.

2. July 25, 2020
   Bruno Candé is murdered

   Candé is shot in public on Avenida de Moscavide. Marinho is detained after bystanders keep him at the scene until police arrive.

3. January 2021
   Qualified-homicide charge

   Prosecutors accuse Marinho of qualified homicide aggravated by racial hatred and unlawful weapons possession.

4. June 28, 2021
   Conviction and sentence

   The Loures court convicts Marinho, finds racial hatred and premeditation, and imposes an aggregate prison term of 22 years and nine months.

Current status

The murder of Bruno Candé is classified here as solved / adjudicated. Evaristo Marinho was convicted of qualified homicide and unlawful weapons possession, and the trial court imposed a single sentence of 22 years and nine months. The sources reviewed for this file document that judgment; this page does not invent a later appellate result that is not established in those sources.