Some of the messages psychographed by Chico have gained enormous national and international repercussion for serving as evidence in legal cases of murder. In all cases, the defendants, submitted to a jury, were absolved after analyzing psychographical messages sent by the victims, which exempted them from all guilt.

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The most famous case was that of Mauricio Garcez, who took place on May 8, 1976, in the city of Goiânia de Campina, Brazil. Maurício Garcez, who was then 15 years old, was at his friend’s house, José Divino Gomes, who then was 18 years old. In the testimony it is stated that both were in a pantry attached to the kitchen, when Mauricio opened a folder that belonged to his friend's father and from it removed a cigarette and a revolver.

 

Believing to have removed all the cartridges, the friends began to play with the weapon, pretending to be hitting the other’s image in the mirror. Then Mauricio passed in front of the mirror exactly at the moment when Jose Divino pulled the trigger, firing a bullet that reached Mauricio in the heart. Immediately, both Jose and his mother arranged for his removal in a taxi to the hospital, where he arrived dead. José Divino was arrested and charged with murder, although he claimed to have been an accident, since there was no witness who could clarify what had happened.

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Despite being Catholics, three months later, Mauricio's parents went to Uberaba city in search of Chico Xavier, but the first message from Mauricio was received by Chico only on May 27, 1978, two years and nineteen days after Mauricio’s death . The message brought comfort to the family, who understood that everything was an accident and Jose was not to blame. The letter was then attached to the case file and the material evidence of the message was so strong that the court of justice absolved Jose Divino.

 

In analyzing the message, two things come to the fore:

1. The description of the incident thorough details, which only Jose Divino and the police themselves were aware of. No one else knew these details, not even the medium Chico Xavier.

 

2. The signature at the end of the message, which is very similar to Mauricio’s signature, as we can see in the figure below:

 

 

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Below the letter in full:

 

"Dear Mom, my dear father, dear Maria Jose and dear Nadia (1).

I am in prayer, asking for the blessing of God. I cannot write much; I come here, with my grandfather Henrique (2), just to ask for resignation and courage.

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We must remember God in the events of the earth. I do not know how to talk about it, I'm learning to live here, although I know that I left here to be born with my loved ones (3) on Earth.

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I ask you not to remember my return to here, creating sad thoughts. Jose Divino and no one else was to blame in my case. We joked about the possibility of hurting someone by the image in the mirror; without the moment being for any movement of mine, the shot reached me, without the fault of the friend, or myself. The result was that: Emergency hospitalization, to leave the body away from home.

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If anyone should ask for forgiveness, it's me, because I should not have played, instead of studying. But my grandfather and other friends rescued me and I was taken to Anapolis to be treated by a nurse who runs a school of faith and love, who tells us that she is sister Terezona (4), a friend of the children.

I heard she knows my grandfather and our family, and now she is a benefactor, which I must thank and mention. As for the rest, I ask Nadia and Maria Jose, my dear sisters, not to complain or resent anyone. I am alive and eager to improve.

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Dear parents, it is all for our good and I think it would be worse for me if I had gone through the alleyways of drugs (5), of which very few people can return without serious loss of spirit. I miss you all, but I am facing the situation with faith in God and with the certainty of a better future.

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Please welcome, my dear papa and dear mother, with our beloved Nadia and Maria Jose, and with all of us, a hug of affection and respect, from the son who asks forgiveness for the mishaps.

Promising to improve, to make you as happy as I can, I am the son and the longing and grateful brother,

Maurício Garcez Henrique."

                                                                                

Notes:

1. Maria José and Nádia were Mauricio’s sisters, present at the psychographic meeting.

2. Apolinario Henrique, paternal grandfather, died on the year of 1971.

3. Mauricio makes a clear reference to reincarnation.  

4. Sister Terezona: Maria Tereza de Jesus, better known as Terezona, founded in Anapolis city the Pilgrimage of “Bom Jesus da Lapa”, in 1913. For her devotion, she had the habit of lighting a candle in the afternoon, and making requests to the sick people, in what she was answered. Hence her great popularity. She passed away in 1930, at the age of 85. According to information provided by the Mauricio’s maternal grandfather, Humberto Batista, who knew her personally, in fact she dedicated herself to helping children.

5. It would have been worse for me if I had gone through the "drugs alleyways": Mauricio's father interprets this comparison as a result of his preoccupation with this social problem, expressed several times to his son during his life, alerting him about the use of drugs by the young.

 

Mauricio's parents, moved by the receiving their son’s first letter, and convinced of its authenticity and that everything was a sad accident, pardoned José Divino. There were two other cases in Brazil of people accused of murder, who were also acquitted after receiving psychographic messages sent by the victims, absolving them.

 

In 1979, Chico Xavier, asked by a reporter about the use of psychographic messages as evidence in court, gave the following answer: "I believe this question should be addressed to the authorities of the Judiciary, and not to me who is only a small companion of our day by day experiences. Now, speaking from the point of view not only spiritualist but also Christian, I remember that the basic point of the Christian Doctrine is that of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, Our Lord Jesus Christ overcame death and gave us the message of Eternal Life. So, as a Christian, I believe that if the message of someone who has transferred to the spiritual life demonstrates elements of authenticity that can interest a human authority, that message is valid for any judgment.