The Murder of Jéssica Biscaia

Jéssica Biscaia was three years old. In June 2022, she spent several days at the home of Ana Pinto in Setúbal. She was returned to her mother, Inês Sanches, when she was already in critical condition and later died at Hospital de São Bernardo. The case led to a prosecution of Jéssica's mother and members of the household where she had been staying.

The investigation

Portuguese prosecutors built a case around the treatment Jéssica received during the days before her death and the failure to obtain timely medical help. The prosecution also examined the conduct of each adult separately rather than treating every person in the household as having the same role.

Crime by Region does not reproduce the extensive injury descriptions presented at trial. The legally important point is that the Setúbal court found that the conduct and omissions proved in the case amounted to qualified homicide.

Five defendants, different outcomes

The central defendants were Jéssica's mother, Inês Sanches, and Ana Pinto, Justo Montes and Esmeralda Montes. A fifth defendant, Eduardo Montes, had the criminal counts against him dropped by prosecutors during the trial and was not convicted of the homicide. He is therefore not described here as a participant in Jéssica's murder.

That distinction matters. A multi-defendant prosecution does not make every accused person equally responsible, and the final page reflects only the findings actually made by the courts.

Four maximum sentences

On August 1, 2023, the Central Criminal Court in Setúbal sentenced Inês Sanches, Ana Pinto, Justo Montes and Esmeralda Montes to 25 years in prison each, the maximum effective prison term available under Portuguese law. The convictions were for qualified homicide, with the mother's liability resting on her failure to protect and obtain help for her daughter as required by law.

The Court of Appeal

On January 23, 2024, the Évora Court of Appeal rejected the appeals before it and confirmed the 25-year prison terms. The appellate court therefore left the first-instance judgment intact for the defendants who challenged it there.

The Supreme Court ruling on Jéssica's mother

Inês Sanches pursued a further appeal. On May 14, 2025, Portugal's Supreme Court of Justice rejected her challenge and confirmed her 25-year sentence for qualified homicide committed by omission. The Supreme Court emphasized the severity of the parental duties she failed to perform toward a particularly vulnerable child.

No reliable later judgment located for this review displaced the homicide convictions reported above. The case is therefore classified as solved and adjudicated.

Why the case is documented carefully

The case generated intense public attention because of Jéssica's age and the circumstances preceding her death. That attention can easily turn into sensational repetition of suffering. This file deliberately avoids that approach and concentrates on what the courts established, who was convicted, who was not, and how the appeals changed — or did not change — the result.

Timeline

1. June 2022
   Jéssica spends several days in another household

   The later prosecution focuses on criminal violence and failures to obtain help during this period.

2. June 20, 2022
   Jéssica dies in Setúbal

   The three-year-old dies after being taken for emergency medical care.

3. August 1, 2023
   Four defendants receive 25 years

   The Setúbal court convicts Inês Sanches, Ana Pinto, Justo Montes and Esmeralda Montes of qualified homicide and imposes the maximum effective prison term on each.

4. January 23, 2024
   Évora Court of Appeal confirms the sentences

   The court rejects the appeals before it and leaves the core judgment intact.

5. May 14, 2025
   Supreme Court confirms the mother's sentence

   The Supreme Court rejects Inês Sanches's appeal and maintains her 25-year term.

Current status

The case is solved and adjudicated. Four defendants received 25-year prison terms for qualified homicide. The Évora Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment, and the Supreme Court later confirmed Inês Sanches's sentence. Eduardo Montes was not convicted of the homicide and is not described as one of Jéssica's killers.