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30/09/2026
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News to Minutes
Betty Grafstein broke the silence about the violence she claims to have lived with her husband José Castelo Branco for years. The socialite gave its testimony, by video conference from the United States, this Tuesday, September 29, in the context of the domestic violence trial against the Portuguese marchand d’art made by the Cascais Court.
According to the morning post office, the judge asked the socialite to turn off the camera and the sound of her computer so that the woman could give her statement more freely.
It should be remembered that Castelo Branco also attended everything by video conferencing as he is living in the United States.
The beginning of the testimony and the reports of aggression
97-year-old Betty Grafstein is admitted to a clinic in New York, bedridden and almost blind, said her son, Roger Basile. Still, the former businesswoman was able to report some episodes of domestic violence that lived alongside her husband for 30 years.
“ The relationship was very complicated and troubled, it was always complicated. I never knew what would happen.”, he said.
The Magistrate wanted to understand more details about the relationship between the two, namely whether there had been “aggressions,” says the CM.
"Oh my God. He assaulted me so many times [...] Punches, I was punched”i said it too.
“ I never knew where it would hit me”, said, adding that “everywhere, so often, so often” and “mainly punches”.
Did Castle White make Betty dress and dress like he wanted?
Although Betty explained to the judge that “there are things you don’t remember”, such as “what you did last week”, some aggressions are present in your memory. The jeweler recalls that her husband “brought her” to put on “shoes that hurt her feet”.
“ I complained. He wasn't too happy about it. He pushed me and he was violent. That’s when he pushed me, very upset, stopped being nice”, clarified Betty, as can be read in the publication.
Furthermore, the socialite revealed that her husband “i chose her diet and wanted her to be always thin.”.
“I’ve never met anyone so bad in this world”
Betty ten question of saying again that she suffered many aggressions from her husband, but mentions that she “does not remember” the alleged push that led her to the CUF hospital in Cascais in April 2024.
“I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything you ask me,” Betty said, adding, however, that her husband “is a very complicated and bad man.”. “I’ve never met anyone so bad in this world,”, referred to the socialite cited by the CM.
“[He] is a maniac, the most evil person you can find in your life”, added Betty, quoted by Jornal de Notícias, saying that she had “fear that he would kill her.”.
The testimony of Roger Basile, the only son of Betty Grafastein
Roger Basile explained that he noticed that his mother “was always very careful near her husband.” The manager also said that “José was ashamed that his mother was seeing a wanderer” and that he “had to walk” without such support.
According to JN, Roger assumed that during their first year of marriage, he received information from a friend about the fact that his mother may have been hurt. Roger explained that he found his mother with bruises on her back and that she also had a large mark on her neck that would have been caused by a thread with which the socialite would have lifted her from the ground.
According to the morning post office, Marcela, Betty's friend, was also heard, who told that she witnessed several aggressions from Castelo Branco to the woman, between March and April 2024.
The next trial session takes place on October 6th.
What is José Castelo Branco accused of?
The socialite was accused in November 2024 by the MP of domestic violence aggravated by “aggressing physically and verbally” the woman, Betty Grafstein, since the beginning of the marriage, celebrated in 1996.
The complaint will be based on medical professionals from the CUF Hospital in Cascais, where Betty Grafstein was admitted with a fractured femur and left arm injuries. It was the former jeweler who reported to the health professionals that her husband pushed her.