A man in Portugal perplexed both the reporter and the general public when he sported a cabbage leaf as a face mask during a local news interview about a murdered little girl. Nine-year-old Valentina Fonseca had recently been found dead in a field in Peniche, Portugal and the man being interviewed was a neighbor of the victim’s family. While the reporter didn’t mention the man’s, erm, creative PPE, the reaction on his face says it all.
- The child’s father and step-mother had recently been arrested. Police suspected them of Valentina’s homicide as well as hiding a cadaver after a three-day search to locate the child’s body. Because of the arrests, news channel Correio da Manha was interested to hear feedback from members of the local community.
- The man described the suspects as “very discreet.” I suppose if he didn’t know them, that’s probably all he could say. However, even if he had loads of intimate details to give on Valentina’s father and step-mother, it’s unlikely anyone would be able to take him seriously given the whole cabbage leaf mask situation.
- Journalist Alberto Mancebo later had to verify the clip. Given the interviewee’s bizarre cabbage leaf face mask, The Mirror reports that Galician radio correspondent Mancebo had to make sure the footage was legit, especially since the incident took place while discussing an incredibly serious and tragic crime. “The man wasn’t joking, and yes, it was broadcast live to the whole of Portugal on TV station Correio da Maha about something that had happened in Peniche,” Mancebo is reported to have said during a broadcast.
- The man’s choice of protective equipment does trivialize a tragic event. While the unnamed man may have thought it was funny to don cabbage on his face during the interview, the bottom line is that an innocent little girl lost her life and was likely killed by adults who were meant to care for her. Valentina’s mother, Sonia Fonseca, is absolutely devastated and will never get her daughter back. Here’s hoping she can somehow find peace and that the horrendous people who did this to Valentina spend the rest of their lives in prison.
