It's a little baffling that this true crime miniseries is under the radar of many people out there, since the genre is one of
most sought after, but it's also easy to understand since Atresplayer Premium didn't put much effort with its promotion (guess who put
the page for it in here?). I got word about ""No se lo digas a nadie" ("Don't Tell Anyone About It") through Beto Ribeiro and his
YouTube channel who detailed about the crime, this show and his input on everything (he's an experienced true crime reporter but I don't
like much of his unnecessary personal parenthesis while presenting facts). Anyway, without him I wouldn't know about a horrendous yet
fascinating story that escaped me when it happened, and most world audiences don't know anything about it and they should know.
The series chronicles the Pioz massacre where members of a Brazilian family were brutally murdered in the smalltown of Pioz, in Spain, and
the perpertrator not only was part of the family (a young nephew) but he also live-streamed the crime with a best friend through a
social media. The last part gets us wildly curious as it provokes a great debate as to the friend's reactions, and the legal system in prosecuting
him as an accomplice of the crime or not. 19-year old Patrick Nogueira murdered his uncle, aunt and two infant cousins in 2016, and the only
reasoning behind it was a series of personal issues he had with them while living abroad, trying a career as a soccer player but failing to be a
helpful member of the family. Marvin Henriques was the friend of whom Patrick exchanged messages during the crime, asking opinions of what to do
with the bodies, and things like that. Unlike the majority of true crime series this tells us a lot about what happened on that fatidic
day in 2016, without showing the gory pictures of it all (a positive note for those who avoid those things, a "downer" for those more curious in seeing
everything).
With the testimonies of friends, family members and others associated with the case, we closely follow a problematic bullied teenager
who wasn't given much attention by anyone, and one who already was given a light sentence with another crime (the stabbing of a teacher). A
sociopath in the making who was only perceived as friendly, handsome and popular, and without a closer look on his actions people barely
noticed that there was a darker side to the boy. It's all very detailed and without loose ends in order to deconstruct him, the crime and the
investigation.
But it also goes back to the friend, Marvin, and his retelling of everything which may upset and intrigue viewers as he's too smiley
through the whole thing - as he explains it's a nervous reaction. In this day and age of internet and social media, the discussion about his
participation and interference in the murder is the key thing for a legal debate as if he should be included as an assessory (as he was but got
acquitted) or not, if he should face extradiction to Spain or get the sentence done in Brazil. Based on the messages shown, I think he should go down
as an accomplice, as he gave some input when it comes to the Patrick's uncle murder and neither he found ways to stop Patrick or call
authorities. Sure, he explains a lot of his thought and action process, but there's not much of a strong case to favor him.
My two quarrels with the show comes from a certain prejudice related to the perception of Brazilians (totally uncalled for) and a weird
happy presentation of certain events with the use of happy fun songs right after or before a serious exposition of facts. Apart for those
distractions, "No se lo digas a nadie" was a thrilling, tense and shocking experience with its countless reflections of family dynamics,
friendship relations (a lot more beyond the two buddies, almost as if there was a love thing going on), and how the internet can be a ruthless
thing (as plenty of their inner circle knew about the crime and didn't say a word to anyone) but also where no perfect crime can exist as there's
always traces. 9/10.
