The father of murdered Brazilian Cecilia Haddad has choked up in court as he described how scared she was of finding her ex-boyfriend in her Sydney apartment.
Mario Marcelo Ferreira dos Santos Santoro, 40, appeared in court in Rio de Janeiro accused of the murder of the 38-year-old in April and then allegedly fleeing to Brazil to avoid arrest.
Her father Jose Ibrahim Haddad Junior said Cecilia felt frightened because he did not accept the end of their courtship.
Cecilia allowed Mario to continue living in her apartment because he had no job and needed to pay school fees for his daughters from his first marriage, the court was told.
Haddad said that not long before the murder, Cecilia returned home after a few days away and did not know if Santoro would be in her apartment.
Arriving at the apartment, she stayed on the phone to her father for reassurance.
Brazilian police have charged Mario Marcelo Santoro with Cecilia Haddad's murder in Sydney. Source: AAP
"She said, 'Dad, he's not here. You can sleep," her father recalled, holding back tears.
Cecilia's stepmother, Andrea Santos Haddad, also said she was aware of threats made by Santoro.
"I got a call from Cecilia in desperation saying she could not go home because of him," she said.
Santoro's behaviour included threats and harassment, she added.
Police in Rio arrested Santoro at a relative's house on July 7, after he had apparently fled Australia.
The victim's brother, Joao Haddad, told the court that after her disappearance he tried to contact Santoro's mother, who told him that her son was not in Brazil.
But he then received a phone call five minutes later from Santoro, admitting he was in the country.
After this pre-trial hearing, Daniel Werneck Cotta will decide if Santoro will face a full trial. If he does, the result will be decided by a jury of seven. If convicted, he could face a sentence of 30 years.
At the end of the hearing, Santoro's lawyers requested his transfer to another prison because he has an engineering degree. Graduates are given special privileges under Brazilian law.
The victim's mother is set to testify at the end of October. Haddad's ex-husband, who lives in Australia will likely testify by video conference.
