Rio Jury Sentences Fighter to 18 Years for Moïse Kabagambe’s Murder

Overview

• Brendon Alexander Luz da Silva, convicted Wednesday by a Rio jury, received 18 years and 8 months in a closed prison regime.
• Jurors applied three qualifiers for homicide — cruelty, futile motive, and means that prevented defense — after finding he restrained the victim for 12 minutes and 40 seconds.
• Judge Alessandra da Rocha Lima Roidis said he immobilized Kabagambe so others could strike him many times and did nothing to stop the violence.
• Security video showed roughly 13 minutes of beating with wood, punches, and kicks, while prosecutors also played the defendant’s messages from that night and highlighted images of him posing as the victim lay bound.
• The defense claimed he meant only to hold Kabagambe and sought a lesser charge, but the court rejected reclassification, denied alternatives to prison, and granted only a limited reduction for a partial confession.