Sabrina DaSilva with her daughter, Victoria, in a photo her sister posted on Go Fund Me. (Go Fund Me)
An undocumented immigrant father recently reacquainted with his adult daughter is accused of gunning her down in her apartment complex parking lot.
Walter DaSilva, 45, was charged in the murder of his daughter, Sabrina, 19, who was a college student and young mother. On a Go Fund Me site, Sabrina’s sister says the shooter was wearing a mask when he gunned down Sabrina.
DaSilva was deported twice before but returned to the United States illegally and “was an undocumented immigrant who … was using aliases to avoid immigration officials,” said the News Times.
“This homicide case is particularly chilling because it involves a father being accused of killing his own daughter,” said Bristol Co. District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III in a statement. “We look forward to prosecuting this defendant in court for this very disturbing case.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Walter DaSilva Is a House Painter & He’s Accused of Murdering His Daughter in a Parking Lot
Sabrina was shot and killed July 3 in the parking lot of her apartment complex in West Bedford, Massachusetts, said South Coast Today. However, the charges were announced against her father on Aug. 8.
Police said she was shot nine times, said the news site. According to WHDH, Sabrina was taking out the trash when she was shot.
However, The Boston Globe said Sabrina was returning from buying juice for her toddler daughter at the grocery store.
Sabrina died in the hospital a short time later. On the Go Fund Me site set up to help Sabrina’s daughter, her sister wrote, “she was fatally shot 9 times by a man with a mask while she was taking groceries out of her car. This was unexpected because she was a good girl that was not involved in any type of trouble or wrong doing.”
In addition to Sabrina’s homicide, her father was also charged with carrying an illegal firearm and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, said The Boston Globe. She lived in the apartment with her mother and toddler, said the newspaper.
The News Times says court documents accuse DaSilva of planning to also murder his daughter’s mother and boyfriend but he allegedly decided instead to murder only his daughter so they could “both go to hell.” Authorities believe he was upset because his daughter was involved with a much older man and had allegedly texted her, “You thought I was going to accept your bitching and being a whore, you were wrong. Delicious is my Beretta.”
2. DaSilva Was on Probation For Trying to Murder His Daughter’s Mother
Sabrina DaSilva’s mother, Lilian, told The Boston Globe that Walter DaSilva “doesn’t have control of his anger” and “is very violent, abusive, possessive, obsessive. He was out of control.”
She said she separated from him in 2001 and raised their daughter on her own. In 2002, DaSilva was convicted of attacking Lilian Silva with a knife, said The Boston Globe.
They were divorced, the newspaper said. DaSilva, 45, was arrested on Aug. 5 on a probation warrant by U.S. marshals in Connecticut, according to the Dartmouth Police Department.
3. Sabrina Was Trying to Reconnect With Her Father & Was a Religious Young Woman
Sabrina DaSilva “had only recently connected with her father,” said the Danbury News Times.
She had made plans to see him over the July 4 holiday weekend but cancelled them “at the last minute,” her mother told the newspaper.
Sabrina’s mother told The Boston Globe that Walter DaSilva went back to Brazil but had returned to the United States and reached out to his daughter, who hadn’t seen him since she was 4-years-old. They began talking and she saw him in Connecticut in May for his birthday, the newspaper said.
On Go Fund Me, Sabrina’s sister wrote, “She loved the Lord our God and believed that in him all things are possible…If you met her you would immediately fall in love with who she was! Being sad around her wasn’t an option. She always said ‘Do what you have to do and be happy.'”
4. Sabrina DaSilva Was a Mother, Spoke Four Languages & Hoped to Become a Translator
According to The Danbury News Times, Sabrina was an “aspiring translator and a mother of a 2-year-old.”
Sabrina’s 2-year-old is named Victoria; the young mother was going to school and had a job, a neighbor told WHDH, describing Sabrina as a “nice” person.
A WPRI 12 reporter described Sabrina as a “single mother, college student, speaker of FOUR languages.”
Her sister confirmed that on Go Fund Me, writing, “She was a hard working young women and going to school with dreams of being an interpreter and so much more. She learned to speak 4 different languages all on her own and was the best manicurest (sic) that you could ever encounter!”
Sabrina, wrote her sister, “strived to be the best she could be for her daughter. We hope for justice and hope God gives us the strength to get through these difficult times. She was full of life, she would light up the whole room with just one laugh and loved to dance the night away. We are all so heartbroken! She was an amazing mother, friend, sister, and daughter. She was everything to us.”
5. Walter DaSilva is a Brazilian citizen, News Reports Say
South Coast Today says that Walter DaSilva is a native of Brazil and is a citizen of that country.
He was living in Danbury, Connecticut at the time of Sabrina’s death. The Danbury News Times says DaSilva “is a Brazilian national” and authorities initially said “his immigration status is under investigation.” However, the News Times says it has now been determined he is an undocumented immigrant twice deported.