A DAUGHTER’S mission to get justice for her father’s murder has come to an end after she caught the runaway killer and arrested him.
Gislayne Silva de Deus from Boa Vista in Roraima, Brazil, was just nine years old when her father Givaldo Jose Vicente de Deus, 35, was shot and killed.
Balanco GeralGislayne Silva de Deus arrested her father’s killer 25 years after he was fatally shot over a debt dispute[/caption]
NewsflashRaimundo Alves Gomes has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the death of Givaldo Jose Vicente de Deus in 1999[/caption]
NewsflashDeus left behind five children and his wife when he was killed while playing pool with a friend[/caption]
The father of five was murdered in February 1999 in the Asa Branca neighbourhood after a fight broke out over a £20 debt.
He was reportedly shot at point-blank range while playing pool with a friend.
Deus was the owner of a supermarket and Raimundo Alves Gomes, who has been convicted of the murder, was one of his suppliers.
According to Silva, her father had offered Alves Gomes a freezer in order to settle the debt, but this was rejected.
The police officer claimed that after this dispute, her father’s killer left the venue and returned half an hour later with a gun.
A fight between the two men ensued during which Deus suffered a fatal gunshot wound despite attempts in hospital to save him.
FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Silva who vowed to get justice for her father started studying law at the age of 18 before joining the police force where she took up several positions.
The cop admitted to fantasising about the day her father’s killer would serve his sentence behind bars.
“When I was a prison [police officer], I always imagined [the killer] arriving there to serve his sentence,” she told local media.
The determined daughter described her father as an “honest and hard-working man” when speaking to Brazilian news outlet G1.
When I saw the man who was responsible for my dad’s death was finally in handcuffs, I couldn’t hold back the tears.
Gislayne Silva de Deus
“My sisters and I went through really difficult times after we lost him,” she added.
Once she was assigned to the General Homicide Division, Silva began tracking down her father’s killer.
Her tireless efforts came to an end last month when Alves Gomes, now 60 years old, was arrested in Boa Vista on September 25, thanks to her dedicated work.
NewsflashSilva, 36, vowed to get justice for her father’s death and started studying law at the age of 18[/caption]
NewsflashSilva told Alves Gomes at the police station that she was the reason he had been tracked down and made to pay for his crime[/caption]
Alves Gomes was located in a hideaway on some farmland on the outskirts of Boa Vista.
‘GOING TO PAY’
The 36-year-old cop was able to confront her father’s killer face-to-face 25 years after he murdered Deus.
“When I saw the man who was responsible for my dad’s death was finally in handcuffs, I couldn’t hold back the tears,” Silva told G1.
“It was an explosion of feelings that turned into tears of relief, as it seemed like this day would never come.”
Footage from the police station after the arrest showed Alves Gomes leaning back in a chair while Silva calmly spoke to him with her hands clasped in front of her.
“It’s because of me that you are here, and you are now going to pay,” she told the murderer.
He reportedly told cops that he had no intention of killing Deus that day in 1999.
Alves Gomes had previously been arrested for the murder but was released from custody before his trial began.
He was found guilty of the murder in 2013 and went on the run in 2016 when authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.
On September 26, 2024, Alves Gomes’ conviction was upheld by a judge and the killer was sent to prison for 12 years.
With the statute of limitations for homicide defendants in Brazil being 20 years, a seven-year deadline was looming for cops to find and arrest Alves Gomes.
‘With his arrest, I cleansed my soul and that of my entire family. It was the end of a cycle,” Silva told local media.
“Today we have peace and the feeling that justice was served.
“This won’t bring our father back, but [the killer] will serve the sentence he should have served many years ago.”
NewsflashSilva described her father as an ‘honest and hard-working man’ and described the ‘difficult time’ that followed for the family after his death[/caption]
NewsflashAlves Gomes has been tried and convicted in 2013 and officially went on the run from 2016 onwards[/caption]