Ecclestone kidnapping case goes to court

Oct.14 - It was "difficult" for Bernie Ecclestone's wife and mother in law to come face to face with kidnappers in court on Thursday.

That was the admission of Ecclestone's wife Fabiana Flosi, who accompanied her mother Aparecida Schunck to the court session, according to Brazilian television SPTV.

In July, Schunck was successfully rescued by authorities after a nine day kidnapping ordeal, masterminded by F1 boss Ecclestone's former helicopter pilot who was demanding a $37 million ransom and threatened to behead her.

According to SPTV, a Sao Paulo judge convened a hearing on Thursday which was attended by Schunk, Flosi and the seven who are accused of carrying out the kidnapping.

The court session lasted three hours, and will reportedly continue when defence witnesses are called. A verdict is not expected until early 2017.

"Today was a very difficult day," Ecclestone's Brazilian wife Flosi said.

"We had to hear details of what happened, and remember the despair of those days when my mother was missing," she added.

"Now we just hope that the judiciary can continue the work of the police and give deserved and appropriate penalties for this crime," said Flosi.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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