A martial-arts nut accused of disfiguring his date during a four-hour beating has been freed from custody after bungling judges delayed the start of his attempted-murder trial.

Victim Elaine Perez Caparroz – the widow of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Ryan Gracie – was left with a deformed face, a punctured lung, and kidney injuries after the savage attack.

55, 27 at the time

Shocking images show the results of her brutal battering, which damaged her facial muscles so badly she can no longer smile properly.

But now her attacker – BJJ fighter Vinicius Serra Batista – has been released from jail after a court ruled that the trial judge had taken too long to bring the case to court.

The accused was held in custody in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for nearly four years following his arrest in 2019.

Now a court hearing in Rio de Janeiro on 31st October has freed Serra Batista from jail while he awaits the trial.

The fighter’s legal team had alleged that he was suffering illegal constraints due to the delay.

Experts had diagnosed Serra Batista with insanity, parasomnia – odd behaviour at night – and anxiety disorder, and claimed he was unconscious during his attack.

But the trial judge had requested a second opinion, which was slow in coming.

Now Serra Batista has been released for transfer to a psychiatric unit.

He must appear monthly in court and must avoid gyms, clubs or other places where alcohol is consumed.

He must also avoid in-person or online contact with his victim and her friends or relatives.

He is also forbidden to leave his new residence without prior judicial authorisation or an electronic ankle tag.

Landscape architect Elaine had agreed to meet Serra Batista, aged 27 at the time, at her flat just once after he pestered her for a date for months, reported local media.

Elaine, aged 55 at the time, told how he had introduced himself at the entrance to her apartment block as “Felipe”.

She said she believes he drugged her, as she has few memories of the moments leading up to the beating.

She recalled waking up with Serra Batista on top of her, punching her repeatedly.

Elaine is the widow of martial arts legend Ryan Gracie, whose family developed the Brazilian jiu-jitsu martial art.

Kyra Gracie – Elaine’s former sister-in-law – said at the time that she might have been strangled to death had she not made an X with her arms, a technique from the martial art.

Serra Batista was arrested for attempted murder and told police at the time that he had drunk wine, fallen asleep, and woken up having a fit.

Elaine was left with a deformed face, pain on her right side where her lung was punctured, kidney impairment, and anaemia.

She told local media: “I just want him to pay for all the harm he did to me. He destroyed my life. I can’t forget what happened.

“Every day I look in the mirror and see my face, which he disfigured and which has never been the same again.

“He broke my nose, affected my eye socket, fractured my tooth roots. Not even my smile is the same anymore.

“I used to smile with my whole mouth, a wide smile. Now my muscles are stuck, my face does not respond the same way.”