One of the most successful Canadian boxers in history, Arturo Gatti distinguished himself in the ring by notching 40 wins and nine losses in 15 years.
Known as “Thunder,” the super featherweight retired in 2007 and died two years later. His untimely death sparked a controversy that continues to this day.
July 11 2009
Gatti is found dead in his hotel room in Brazil. He was on vacation with wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their infant son, Arturo Jr.
Rodrigues is charged with first-degree murder after the strap of her purse is found stained with blood. Police suspect she strangled her husband while he slept.
Friends tell authorities the couple had been having marital problems and were about to separate.
July 30, 2009
Brazilian police rule Gatti’s death a suicide and release Rodrigues. Police conclude that Gatti used the purse strap to hang himself from a wooden staircase column.
Aug. 1, 2009
A pathologist working for the Gatti family says Brazilian authorities bungled the autopsy by overlooking bruises on Gatti’s body.
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Brazil prosecutors promise to take a second look at the case after private investigators in the U.S., backed by several experts, conclude the evidence points to homicide.
Sept. 12, 2011
A lawyer acting on behalf of Arturo Gatti’s daughter from a previous relationship, Sofia, files a wrongful-death lawsuit against Rodrigues.
Sept. 21, 2011
Rodrigues says she is tired of fighting her in-laws as the sides continue to negotiate a possible settlement over his will.
The two sides have been in the courts, fighting over his $3.4 million estate.
The Gatti family rejects the legitimacy of a will, signed just weeks before his death, that left everything to Rodrigues.
Family members want the fortune to be split equally between Gatti’s son with Rodrigues and Sofia, his daughter from a previous relationship.
The boxer’s family does not accept the conclusion of Brazilian authorities that he committed suicide.
Oct. 7, 2011
Explosive and eye opening testimony Friday at the Arturo Gatti estate battle as the boxer’s former girlfriend, Erika Rivera, took the stand.
Her testimony dealt a crushing blow to the family of the boxer as she told the court Gatti had attempted suicide in the past.
Rivera and Gatti had a daughter together, Sofia Bella. The couple broke up in 2006. During a child custody hearing that year, Rivera wrote the boxer had attempted suicide by overdosing on cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs.
Nov. 9, 2011
A Quebec coroner has completed a long-awaited report into the death of champion boxer Arturo Gatti.
The document released Wednesday says there is no hard evidence that anyone killed the boxer.
The report by Jean Brochu is critical of the way Brazilian authorities handled evidence at the crime scene.
He says that makes it difficult to conclude with absolute certainty what happened.
Dec. 13, 2011
Quebec Superior Court Justice Claudine Roy has ruled Friday afternoon
that Amanda Rodrigues, the widow Arturo Gatti, will inherit the late boxer’s fortune.
-With files from The Canadian Press
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