Dorothy Stang died many thousands of miles from Denver, murdered in the Amazon rain forest, but her story resonates here in Colorado. Her brother, David, lives in Palmer Lake, and has spent years trying to find justice for his sister, a 73-year-old nun who had spent decades working with the poor settlers when she was killed in 2005.
Two Denver filmmakers joined David Stang in that quest, making the movie They Killed Sister Dorothy. Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher followed him as he traveled to Brazil, trying to bring his sister's murderers to trial. The documentary, which screened at last fall's Denver International Film Festival and will air on HBO on March 25, is both a gripping courtroom drama and a cautionary environmental tale.
And now it could even have a satisfying ending: The Associated Press reported that yesterday in federal court in Altamira, Brazil, Regivaldo Galvao, the rancher who's been charged with ordering Dorothy Stang's murder, was also charged with trying to fraudulently obtain the parcel of rain forest that she died defending. That could undermine his alibi in the murder case, according to prosecutor Felicio Pontes. "The case is still open and we can use the facts from this land case in Dorothy's," he told the AP. "He is going to be found guilty, I have no doubt."
