António Luís Costa

António Luís Costa (born 1953) is a Portuguese retired GNR soldier and serial killer from Santa Comba Dão. He was convicted in 2007 for the murders of three young women between May 2005 and May 2006. He is currently held in the prison of Évora. The case received extensive media attention in Portugal. It was front page in some newspapers.

Murders Costa's first victim was Isabel Cristina Isidoro, who went missing on 24 May 2005; her body was recovered from the ocean on 31 May 2005. Mariana Lourenço went missing on 14 October 2005, and her mutilated body was found in June 2006.

Arrest and confession Costa was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on 24 June 2006. At first, he confessed the crimes, both to the police and to the judge conducting the preliminary investigation. He later withdrew his confession and accused an uncle of Lourenço for the crimes. He claimed police coerced him into confessing, an accusation refuted by the PJ. Costa's telephone was tapped, and he was recorded confessing the crimes to his family.

Trial Costa's trial began on 4 July 2007; he was charged with three murders, three crimes of hiding the body, one crime of profaning the body (for undressing a body), two crimes of attempting sexual coercion, and one crime of calumnious denunciation (for accusing Lourenço's uncle of the crimes In addition, the defence claimed the rights of the defendant were not respected because he was treated as a guilty psychopathic serial killer. Costa was sentenced to 64.5 years in prison,

On 18 June 2020, Costa was denied parole.

The case raised some criticisms towards the Portuguese rule that sets 25 years in prison as the maximum penalty. Some people argued that more severe sentences should be allowed.