The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
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Minas Gerais from Ipatinga, Fernanda Júlia da Silva, 34 years old, moved to Portugal 18 years ago, certain that her future lay in Portuguese lands. It was in the country that she met taxi driver Bruno Neto, 36, also Brazilian, with whom she had a daughter, Maria, aged 5. The Brazilian was already the mother of João, 12, from another relationship. She was sure she had found the right partner, as she told her friends. Both of their lives were tragically interrupted in the early afternoon of Wednesday (02/10). They were shot dead in a barbershop in the neighborhood of Penha de França, central Lisbon. Fernanda was three months pregnant. The other victim was barber Carlos Pina, 43, who was hit in the head and left behind five children.
Fernanda was not intimidated by work. As a manicurist, I loved giving a special touch to clients’ nails. If she took a few days off, someone would always appear on social media telling her to return to work soon, as she was missing it. The Minas Gerais native also had culinary skills, which became more pronounced during the pandemic, when she started selling food and snacks to supplement her income.
One of Fernanda’s best friends, Layz Santos Cardoso, also from Minas Gerais, says that she met her when she was very young. “I was the one who trained her to take care of her nails. She worked with me in my salon for six years, she was always an excellent professional”, he says. “Fernanda resigned when she met Bruno. I went to work with him, who managed a fleet of taxis and cars using apps”, he adds.
Layz gets emotional. “We still don’t understand what happened. There are no details about the motivation for the crime”, he points out. She says that Bruno also had a son from another marriage, Gonçalo, aged 15. “Fernanda was very happy with her marriage”, reinforces her friend, who lives in Portugal. “We ended up living very close together,” he says.
Currently, Fernanda and Bruno lived in Carregado, after years living in Vila Nova de Xira, on the outskirts of Lisbon. “It’s difficult to deal with all this, with all this violence”, comments Layz. Fernanda always made a point of dedicating messages and videos on social media to her and also to Josy Monteiro. They were inseparable.
killer on the run
The Judicial Police, which is investigating the crimes, says it does not know whether Fernanda and Bruno have Portuguese nationality. For Layz, it is a surprise to learn that Bruno is Brazilian. “I always thought he was Portuguese”, he highlights. The Public Security Police (PSP) says, in a statement, that it was called at 1:25 pm on Wednesday, when it received information that three people had been shot.
When the police arrived, Fernanda, Bruno and Carlos were already dead. The suspect in the triple murder, identified as Fernando Silva, left the scene on foot. The police are looking for him, who was allegedly helped to escape by two men.
Fernanda’s family in Ipatinga is still trying to understand what actually happened. Consul General of Brazil in Lisbon, Ambassador Wladimir Valler Filho, says that the consulate has not yet been contacted by either relatives or friends to ask for help. “But we have our entire assistance structure in place. We have a lot of experience in providing legal and psychological assistance.” He highlights that “it is not a tradition for the Portuguese police to contact the consulate, but the body is prepared to provide all the necessary information”, he reinforces.
