Nelson Oliveira
The husband of Caroline Bittencourt, the Brazilian model who died after being thrown from a boat during a massive storm last week, will be charged with manslaughter, local authorities told Brazilian media on Tuesday.
Entrepreneur Jorge Sestini failed to heed warnings about strong winds and rain that were expected that Sunday, April 28, before the couple took their boat into the ocean, investigators told reporters, according to Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.
A police chief described Sestini’s actions as “indisputable negligence,” adding that he was “expressly warned” about the weather but decided to go into the sea anyway and didn’t even provide his wife with a life jacket. If she had been wearing one, the official said, she likely would’ve survived.
Bittencourt, 37, was knocked off the sailboat with her two dogs during the storm. Her husband jumped in to try to save her, but the storm was too strong. He was rescued after swimming for about three hours and her body was found the next day.
The couple had married in January.
Police said the owner of the marina where the boat was kept repeatedly warned Sestini through text and audio messages on WhatsApp that high winds were heading in their direction that afternoon. Sestini will be questioned within 90 days, according to the report.
The accident took place in Ilhabela, a picturesque archipelago along the São Paulo coast.
Bittencourt, a former TV host, is survived by a 17-year-old daughter.
