Husband of the Model Who Drowned After Supposedly Trying to Save Dogs Set to be Charged: Police
The husband of Brazilian model Caroline Bittencourt, who tragically died last week after she was swept overboard by a gale and drowned in a nasty storm, will be charged in connection to her death.
São Sebastião Civil Police announced on Monday that Jorge Sestini would be indicted for manslaughter after he allegedly ignored the signs for rough weather conditions and set sail for a trip to Ilhabela with his wife, O Estado de Sao Paulo reports.
Lead investigator/Delegate Vanderley Pagliarini decided that Sestini had been “negligent” following testimony from the marina owner Leonardo Oliveira, who claimed he issued multiple warnings to Sestini about the poor sailing conditions, according to G1 Global News.
On Friday, April 26, Oliveira said he advised the couple to be careful before they left, as a “northwest wind” was in the forecast, the outlet reports. He said a more urgent warning was issued again on Sunday, just an hour and a half ahead of the dangerous winds.
The owner also claimed he tried to contact them 15 minutes after the incident — at which point, Bittencourt and Sestini were both overboard (the latter had jumped in the waters in a bid to save his wife.)
“Knowing the bad weather that was raging at that moment, the region, especially for those who were on board small boats, expressly warned in this regard, decided to launch into the sea, not providing at least that the victim wore a life jacket as he himself was concerned, indisputable negligence that refers to the basis of wrongful crimes,” Pagliarini said in a court document obtained by G1 Global News.
Sestini is not yet in police custody, as Pagliarini told G1 Global News that an indictment has been issued to the São Paulo police and they are now waiting for him to “come to the police station.”
If convicted, the outlet said Sestini could face one to three years in prison.
Sestini did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
