A Brazilian father originally sentenced to 24 years in prison for smothering his four-year-old daughter to death has had his sentence reduced to just 18 months and 20 days. Chef Ricardo Krause was convicted in 2018 for the death of Sophia Kissajikian Cancio Najjar, who was found asphyxiated with a plastic bag over her head at the family home in Jabaquara, São Paulo, in December 2015.
Judges at the São Paulo Court of Justice overturned the original sentence in 2020, and a new hearing on May 24 and 25 this year accepted a reduced charge of manslaughter. The court determined that Krause had not intended to kill his daughter, leading to the drastically reduced sentence.
Sophia's mother, Ligia Kissajikian Cancio, has criticised the decision, saying the family does not feel justice has been served. She confirmed that the prosecution has appealed the ruling. At the time of the incident, Krause was the only other person at home and claimed he was showering when his daughter died, only discovering her with the bag over her head upon leaving the bathroom.
Krause was arrested shortly after the funeral and spent a year in prison before being freed pending trial. He was rearrested in March 2017 and sentenced for intentional homicide in 2018. His lawyers had argued that the death was a domestic accident while playing with the bag.
