The partner of the man cleared of teenager Josh Dunne’s murder says he will leave Ireland for good and return to Brazil — due to fears for his safety.
On Tuesday, Brazilian native George Gonzaga Bento, who stabbed Ballymun teen Josh twice in January 2021, was cleared of his murder and walked free from prison after being on remand for more than a year.
And speaking exclusively to us last night, Mr Bento’s partner Cohelo Macedo revealed that he’s leaving Ireland and returning to Brazil to find work.
“He doesn’t intend to stay in Ireland. He’s very concerned,” she said. "Ireland is a lovely country.[But] we have seen some comments on social media that make us really worried.
“After all he just feels like being with his kids at the moment, and his old parents.
“But at the end of the day we are trying to keep positive thoughts and hoping that everything is gonna be alright.
“We are glad that we didn’t suffer any physical threat but we don’t know these people that are posting these violent
comments online and he does not feel like waiting to see what they can do,” she said.
She added that Mr Bento himself didn’t wish to speak further “in respect of the pain that both families have been through” —but she said justice had been served, and they are relieved.
“George had never been in prison or nowhere close to a fight in 35 years of his life, and suddenly, for trying to stop a crime, he was put in jail for 16 months awaiting the trial,” she told this paper.
“Thankfully, after six weeks of trial, almost 200 witnesses and CCTV records that showed what really happened on that unfortunate night, justice has been served.”
Ms Macedo also indicated that Mr Bento intends to visit his family in Brazil, now that he has been released from prison — adding that he is currently trying to get over the “trauma” of what
happened.
“George has two small kids and a huge family in Brazil that misses him a lot, so now he is focusing all his time and energy with his family and friends and trying to start his life again and get over this trauma,” she said.
She also added that Mr Bento is now going to see a psychologist — while friends try to find him a new job in Brazil.
“George is going to start his sessions with a psychologist to try to recover.
“Some friends back in Brazil are already looking for a job for him and everything will go back on track.”
Asked how he spent his first day of freedom she said: “He spent time at home, talking with family and friends that are in Brazil.
“He was being really missed.”
Mr Bento walked free from the Central Criminal Court in Dublin after a jury found that he was acting in self-defence after being attacked when he and a colleague tried to retrieve a stolen bike in East Wall, Dublin on January 26, 2021.
Taking to social media, Josh Dunne’s brother Dean said he was left completely heartbroken by the verdict.
Posting a picture of himself and Josh when they were younger to social media Dean wrote: “I’m absolutely heart-broken.
“I’ll love and miss you forever and always brother and I promise this is not the end .
“FOREVER YOUNG JD11.”
In an interview with this paper two days after the death of his brother last year, Dean, at the family home in Ballymun, said he was heartbroken that he couldn’t be there for Josh.
“All we had is our mother. She was our mother and father all in one. I stepped in and tried to be the father figure.
“People say he has a personality exactly like me. I tried everything I could do but unfortunately I wasn’t there on the night,” he said.
Leaving court, George Gonzaga Bento embraced his mother, partner and legal team outside the building as he grasped a bible and the book Mind Full, penned by comedian and broadcaster Dermot Whelan.
Bento said: “I am very grateful, I pray a lot for that. I’m not in shock. It’s more emotion than I can speak.”
He hailed his legal team as “brilliant”, saying that they believed him and fought for him before adding: “Now my focus is my family, spend some time with the people I love, the people who support me.
“After that I think about other things.”
Asked if had anything to say to the Dunne family, he said: “I say sorry at the beginning and at the end, hopefully one day she [Josh’s mum] could forgive me for what happened.”
He added that what happened was not his intention.
The devastated family of Josh, a talented young footballer, left the court and were too shocked to speak following the case.
Josh’s heartbroken mum Diane was supported by her family and friends as she left the courthouse.
And on social media, she thanked people, stating: “I am not going down easy, I’ll keep fighting for Josh until the day I die.”
