Kriti Mehrotra
With Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Abandoned: The Woman in the Decaying House’ being a documentary series that lives up to its title in every way, we get an original that is simply baffling. That’s because it delves into a tale that connects Brazil and the USA via an alleged series of crimes committed against domestic help Hilda Rosa dos Santos at the hands of her “employer” for 2 decades. In the end, while matriarch Margarida Maria Bonetti managed to escape by fleeing the federal authorities, her husband Renê Bonetti was found guilty of several federal charges back in the early 2000s.
Renê Bonetti Came to the USA as a Renowned Engineer
Although not much regarding Renê Bonetti’s background or early years is available as of writing, we do know he is a proud native of São Paulo, Brazil, where he led a happy, stable life. According to records, he was always rather interested in the world of STEM, so upon graduating high school, he earned a degree in engineering before kickstaring his career in the same. He soon also tied the knot with affluent socialite Margarida Maria Vicente de Azevedo before settling down with her in a beautiful home on the outskirts of the city, which is where they also welcomed a son, Arthur.
By this point, in 1972, Renê was a rising satellite engineer employed at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, through which he was further able to expand his skillset. In fact, he eventually earned a Master’s as well as a Doctorate degree in the same field, only to then find himself facing a golden opportunity for a professional like him. In the late 1970s, he couldn’t help but accept a prestigious posting in the US to conduct extensive scientific satellite research at telecommunications company Comsat. His wife wasn’t particularly happy with this move, but it was great for his career, so the family relocated to suburban Montgomery Village, just outside Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Renê Bonetti Was Held Accountable for the Alleged Abuse Against Hilda dos Santos
Having served the de Azevedo family since the early 1960s when Margarida was merely 9 years old, Hilda dos Santos was “gifted” to the now married mother of one by her parents. They believed that since she had to relocate to an entirely different nation when she didn’t really want to, alongside a new child, it would be best if she had the help of the maid they truly trusted. However, things changed almost as soon as they arrived because while the Bonettis resided in a beautiful home surrounded by all comforts, they treated their domestic help in “slavery-like conditions.”
While the Bonettis did have her baptized and paid for her passport as well as visa, they never treated Hilda well, and Renê also took her documents before letting them expire for good. Furthermore, despite the fact that she worked for them for over 6 hours a day and was at their beck and call, it didn’t help either, and neither did Margardia’s physical abuse of her. She was reportedly slapped, punched, beaten with shoes, and medically neglected in ways no one can even begin to imagine. She once had a leg wound that Renê let fester for over a year before taking her to a doctor, and they also later didn’t allow her to have surgery despite her having a tumor growing in her stomach.
It wasn’t until Hilda escaped with the help of a neighbor she had managed to befriend in 998 that she got the necessary surgery, and the truth came to light, shocking the nation. It turns out that despite all of Hilda’s hard work, she was never once paid in the 9 years she served the Bonettis in the US. Moreover, whenever she asked to be given at least part of her salary in hand, all Renê told her was that he was transferring her wages to a secure bank account every month, though he never did. As if that’s not enough, the FBI also discovered that Hilda was living in deplorable conditions – locked on the fridge as well as no toilet and no shower in her cold basement apartment, ultimately leading to arrests. Since Margarida managed to flee the nation, Renê was the only one properly arrested for criminal charges.
Having Served His Sentence, Renê Bonetti is Now a Free Man
As per records, Renê was charged with three counts of immigration felony related to harboring an undocumented person as well as causing her “serious bodily injury.” He vehemently denied these allegations, but shortly before his trial was to kickstart in February 20002, he tried to settle the case with Hilda by describing her to the court as a family friend and that while he didn’t pay her a salary for over two decades, he would now pay her. However, the amount he calculated was $4,050 for nearly 5 years, that is, the period his wife’s family gave him her salary to be paid – this amounted to 41.7 cents per hour for a 40-hour workweek, a rate he said was based on Brazilian standards. The prosecution understandably denied this before saying in court that Renê needed to realize what had transpired.
With the prosecution painting a clear picture of the abuse and “enslavement” Hilda dos Santos suffered for 19 years before managing to escape, the jury convicted Renê. According to records, this satellite engineer, who had left Comsat after 17 years before serving as a program manager at Hughes Network Systems for 3 years, never once conceded to any wrongdoing. The professional, who had even won an award from NASA for his space research at one point, leading to him attaining incredible success until the tragedy, allegedly wholeheartedly believed he was innocent. Renê thought the entire ordeal was exaggerated, but the federal authorities thought otherwise, and he was convicted of conspiracy to harbor an illegal alien and harboring an illegal alien “for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.”
As if that’s not enough, it was determined that he had helped cause “serious bodily injury and/or placed in jeopardy the life of” Hilda, so he was sentenced to 6½ years in Federal prison as well as ordered to pay $110,000 in restitution. From what we can tell, Renê filed an appeal immediately after, but it was denied in 2002, and Margarida never returned to the US despite her family also having testified in his defense, leading to the couple’s eventual divorce. It appears as if Renê was released from prison under supervision/on parole on October 7, 2005, and he has managed to not only resume his career but also still continue to reside in the US. In fact, although he is now in his 70s, the Brazilian national resideing in Sterling, Virginia, still actively, willing works – he is presently the proud Payload Manager at Northrop Grumman Inovation Systems. Unfortunately, though, not much is known about his personal standing as of writing, as he prefers to keep this aspect of his life well away from the limelight.
Read More: Where is Margarida Bonetti Now? Update on the International Fugitive
