A Montreal notary public testified Tuesday that boxer Arturo Gatti and his Brazilian wife appeared to be getting along well and even holding hands just before they signed a new will in 2009, three weeks before Gatti died.
A three-week civil trial began Tuesday in Montreal to determine how Gatti's multi-million dollar estate will be divided up.
Gatti's widow, Amanda Rodrigues, claims his estate belongs to her based on the will written just before his death. That document left his estate, valued at several million dollars, to her.
The boxer's family, however, claims a previous will left his estate to them, and the new will must have been signed under duress. The family has so far been unable to produce the original document.
Testimony on Tuesday from notary public Bruce Moidel appeared to contradict the family's position.
"The notary has been testifying all morning saying they did not sound like a couple under any form of duress," said CTV Montreal's Stephane Giroux, reporting from outside the court.
"They looked quite happy, they came to sign immigration papers but in the end he said if you're about to travel and leave your child behind it may be time for you two to write your will, which is exactly what they did."
The notary testified that the last line of the will specifically states that the document cancels any previous wills.
Another clause, added to the will in front of the notary, stated that if Gatti were to cheat on his wife, she would be entitled to a payment of $1 million, Giroux said.
Gatti died while on vacation with his family in the Brazilian seaside resort of Punto de Galinhas in July 2009.
Brazilian investigators ruled that his death was a suicide, a claim Gatti's family has long opposed.
They had requested a delay in the proceedings in order to introduce the results of a private investigation, carried out over the past 10 months, that they say will refute the suicide finding.
The report was carried out by an investigator hired by Pat Lynch, Gatti's former manager, and will be released Wednesday in New Jersey.
However, a judge ruled last week the report would not be allowed and the trial would continue as planned.
"The admissibility of this report would certainly be vigorously contested, notably because the author relies on hearsay," Justice Claudine Roy wrote in a ruling.
"Mr. Gatti is a public personality and his death made waves and is still doing so. This should not stop a fair and equitable trial from taking place to decide the fate of his estate."
Gatti's family has been embroiled in a dispute with Rodrigues over his will since immediately after his death.
Brazilian police initially named Rodrigues as a suspect in his death. However, she was later released when the autopsy concluded he had committed suicide.
Investigators in Brazil concluded that Gatti hung himself from the staircase in the apartment they had rented, using the strap from a handbag.
A second autopsy was conducted on Gatti's remains in Montreal in 2009. A Quebec coroner carried out the autopsy along with Michael Baden, a TV host and former New York state chief pathologist, who was hired by the Gatti family.
The results of that autopsy have not yet been released.
There have been reports of a possible settlement between the two sides, but Rodrigues' lawyer Pierre-Hughes Fortin said last week there was no truth to the reports.
Gatti's estate is valued at several million dollars.
With files from The Canadian Press
