Overview
- A special criminal court found Delphine Pinto guilty of provoking the organized killing of her husband and handed her a 30‑year prison term.
- Prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment and highlighted what they called dozens of contradictory accounts and coded exchanges that they say show a planned, contracted murder.
- Pinto denied ordering the killing while admitting she may have told her lover she ‘wished’ her husband dead during their divorce.
- Co‑defendants received varied sentences with the alleged shooter sentenced to 30 years, an intermediary to 16 years, the arms supplier to 10 years, and Pinto’s son acquitted; some defence teams signalled plans to appeal.
- The case reopened debate over earlier accusations Pinto made against the victim that were dropped a week before his death and has led the court to remove Pinto’s parental authority while an administrator represents the couple’s young daughters.