'Horrifying Act Of Domestic Violence': Upgraded Charges For Man Accused Of Slaying Estranged Wife On LI: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — The estranged husband accused of stabbing his wife to death on Long Island faces upgraded charges in an indictment, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office said Monday.

Marcos Marques-Leal, a 57-year-old resident of Brazil, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, as well as endangering the welfare of a child, the DA said.

His defense attorney, Michael Seth Ross of Hauppauge, declined comment on the case on Monday.

Leal pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail to the Suffolk County Jail, online court documents show.

Tierney said, "the charges in the indictment reflect a horrifying act of domestic violence that claimed the life of an innocent woman and forever changed the life of a child who witnessed it."

"No family should endure such terror, and no child should carry the trauma of seeing a parent killed before their eyes," he said. "We will pursue justice with unwavering determination, while keeping the victims at the center of this case.”

At around 8:15 p.m. on Feb. 12, Leal went to Barbosa’s home in Farmingville, where she lived with their 16-year-old daughter, and in violation of an order of protection issued in Family Court, he allegedly tried to enter the home through a side door, prosecutors said.

After finding it locked, he then reportedly attempted to kick the door down, and after failing to gain entry, he reportedly went to the rear of the home, picked up a large planter from the deck, and threw it into the sliding glass door, according to prosecutors.

Barbosa and her daughter fled to Barbosa’s bedroom and locked the door, while the daughter called
911, but Leal found them, forced his way in, and, while wielding a knife, lunged at Barbosa, prosecutors said, adding that the child put herself between her parents, trying to protect her mother.

Reaching over his daughter, Leal stabbed Barbosa in the head, neck, and body, causing her
death, according to prosecutors.

The child sustained defensive wounds to her hands, prosecutors said, adding that Leal then stabbed himself in the neck and abdomen.

Officers found the family in the bedroom, each with varying degrees of injury, and all
three were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, but Barbosa did not survive, instead perishing just after her arrival, prosecutors said.

Leal was ordered held without bail during the pendency of the case.

He faces 25 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.

He is due back in court on March 25.

Leal and Barbosa did not live together, and no one else was in the unit at the time of the stabbing, but there was a downstairs tenant who was home at the time of the stabbing, Suffolk police told Patch after the incident.

It is not clear if he intended to kill himself or only inflict a serious wound, officials said.

There were "a few non-violent domestic calls" over the past few months at the Farmingville home of Barbosa where Leal fatally stabbed her, police said.

The Suffolk County Sheriff's office said that it did not have a record of any previous arrests within its jurisdiction.

The motive for the attack is under investigation, a police spokesman previously said.

The family and friends of Barbosa remembered her for being "a light in the lives of all who knew her," according to a page on the crowd-funding platform, GoFundMe, which was posted by Brazilian Gospel Church in Selden.

The church, alone, has raised more than $27,000, while three other pages have sprung up, raising more than $41,000, to support her family.

"It is with broken hearts that we share the devastating loss of our sister, Adriana Paulino Barbosa, a truly extraordinary woman whose life was cut short prematurely," the church's post read. "She was a loving mother, daughter, sister, and friend — a light in the lives of all who knew her. Her kindness was natural, her laughter contagious, and her strength inspiring."