On a summer evening in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the life of 19-year-old Sabrina DaSilva was tragically cut short. On July 3, 2016, she was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot of the Verdean Gardens apartment building on Bedford Street, where she lived. First responders rushed her to St. Luke's Hospital, but she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival.
At the time of her death, Sabrina was a student at Bristol Community College and the mother of a young daughter.
In the days following the shooting, investigators worked to identify a suspect, and the community planned a vigil in her memory. The investigation soon focused on a suspect who was both shocking and deeply disturbing: Sabrina's own father. About a month after the killing, 45-year-old Walter DaSilva was arrested in Bridgeport, Connecticut, by U.S. Marshals. He was initially taken into custody as a fugitive and for a probation violation related to a past conviction for attempting to murder Sabrina's mother over a decade earlier.
Following his arrest, Walter DaSilva was charged with the murder of his daughter, as well as illegal firearm offenses. The case was described by the Bristol County District Attorney as "particularly chilling" because it involved a father accused of killing his own child. Investigators revealed that Walter DaSilva, a Brazilian citizen who had been deported twice before, was upset with his daughter. He allegedly killed her because she did not visit him on Father's Day and because he disapproved of her dating an older man. After his arrest, he reportedly confessed to the murder.
Walter DaSilva was indicted by a grand jury and held without bail. He was eventually sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for the murder of his daughter. In addition to his state sentence, he also faced federal charges for illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported. This brought a legal end to a case that not only mourned the loss of a young woman but also grappled with a history of domestic violence that ultimately culminated in an unthinkable act.
