Police in the Curitiba area are investigating the case as an attempted femicide after a dispute outside her birthday celebration.
CURITIBA, Brazil — A 39-year-old mother of three was in intensive care Friday after police said her estranged husband drove a car into her outside her birthday celebration in the Curitiba area late Sunday, leaving her with a broken femur and other injuries.
The case drew swift attention in Brazil because investigators said they were treating it as an attempted femicide, not a routine traffic collision. Relatives said the woman, identified in local reports as Leidiane, had a history of domestic violence with the suspect, identified only as Clair, and had recently separated from him after five years together. Her family has publicly called for justice as she waits for surgery, while key questions about the suspect’s legal status and the next court steps remained unanswered by Friday.
According to local reports, the violence began during a birthday gathering at Leidiane’s home on the night of April 12 in Fazenda Rio Grande, a city in the Curitiba metropolitan area. Leidiane, who works as a digital content creator, had organized the celebration with friends and relatives. Clair, her estranged husband, also went to the party. Family members said the couple argued after the celebration over a cellphone. The dispute moved from inside the home to the street in front of it. Record TV reported that documents were thrown from the car during the confrontation and that the vehicle was then driven toward Leidiane. She was struck outside the house and taken to a hospital. Her aunt, Elisangela Markuetti, said the injuries were severe. “She will need a pin inserted and she is very distressed,” Markuetti said.
Police have said they are investigating the case as an attempted femicide, a designation used in Brazil when investigators believe violence against a woman is tied to gender and occurs in a domestic or family setting. Family members told local media there had been earlier police records involving domestic violence in the relationship. One of Leidiane’s daughters witnessed the crash, according to relatives, adding another painful detail to an episode that unfolded in front of people who had gathered for what was supposed to be a small family celebration. Public reports reviewed Friday did not fully answer several basic questions, including whether Clair had been arrested, whether prosecutors had formally filed charges, and whether a judge had already considered protective measures for Leidiane and her children. No public statement naming a defense lawyer for the suspect had been reported by Friday.
The setting also helps explain why the case spread quickly beyond the Curitiba region. Fazenda Rio Grande sits on the southern edge of greater Curitiba, where crimes involving domestic violence often move from family disputes into broader public concern when they are captured on camera or happen in front of children and neighbors. Brazil has had a femicide law since 2015, when Congress changed the penal code to treat the killing of women in contexts such as domestic and family violence as a distinct, aggravated crime. In recent months, federal officials have also described violence against women as one of the country’s main public security problems. Justice Ministry data released in March said Brazil recorded 1,561 femicide victims in 2025. That national backdrop gives added weight to a case in which police quickly signaled that they were looking at intent, relationship history and prior reports, not only the mechanics of a vehicle strike.
What happens next will depend on evidence gathered in the first days of the inquiry. Investigators typically seek witness statements, hospital records, any existing police reports, and video from security cameras or nearby homes when a crash is alleged to have been intentional. In this case, local reporting has already pointed to several issues likely to matter: the earlier domestic violence history described by relatives, the fact that the victim and suspect were separating, the argument over the cellphone, and the presence of family members at the scene. By Friday, authorities had not publicly laid out a full step by step timeline from the end of the party to Leidiane’s hospitalization, and there was no public court record in the coverage reviewed that clarified whether the suspect was in custody. The next formal milestones are likely to be an updated police statement, a decision on charges, and medical updates on Leidiane’s surgery and recovery.
For Leidiane’s relatives, the hardest part has been the collision between ordinary family life and sudden violence. The gathering was meant to mark her birthday, not the beginning of a criminal case. Instead, relatives were left recounting hospital updates and asking why a quarrel that started over a cellphone ended with a car in the street and a mother of three in intensive care. The family has focused public attention on two points: Leidiane’s immediate medical needs and the fear that warnings in the relationship had already existed before the attack. Their comments have kept the story grounded in the people closest to the victim rather than in courtroom language alone. They have described a woman in pain, children who saw too much, and a celebration that ended with emergency care. That account, more than any single legal label, explains why the case has struck a nerve in Brazil at a time of sharp national concern over gender-based violence.
As of Friday, Leidiane remained hospitalized and awaiting surgery, while police in Paraná were still investigating the case as attempted femicide. The next clear turning point is expected to come with a formal police update or court action that clarifies the suspect’s status and the charges, if any, that prosecutors plan to pursue.
Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.