Gislayne Silva de Deus' father was murdered when she was just 9 years old. Decades later, the Brazilian woman grew up to become a cop and arrested her dad's killer herself.
Givaldo José Vicente de Deus was shot dead over a debt of R$150, or the equivalent to about $27 USD in 1999. He had gotten into an argument with Raimundo Alves Gomes at a bar, who then left, returned with a gun and shot him in the head, according to a recount by Brazilian news outlet Nova1.
Gomes fled the scene and warrants were issued for his arrest, but he was never caught.
"[Gomes] left behind a broken family, with five children, and our mothers had to fight hard to raise us. This event could have led us down other paths, but our mothers always taught us to follow the right path," Silva de Deus told the outlet.
Silva de Deus said that her father had always encouraged her to study, so she put in the work. When she was 18, she also decided to attend law school and graduated seven years later.
She also passed two public examinations to become a police officer. In July 2024, Silva de Deus requested to join the General Homicide Division, where she believed that she would finally be able to get justice for her father.
She was able to locate an arrest warrant from 2019 and, on Aug. 25, Gomes was arrested by the Civil Police of Roraima. "When I saw him at the police station, I made a point of telling him who I was and that I had been responsible for carrying out the arrest warrant," Silva de Deus told Nova1.
Gomes was sentenced at a hearing Thursday to 12 years in prison, enforcing a sentence that had already been imposed in 2013.
"I shared the news with my family, and everyone felt a great sense of peace and justice. We waited a long time, and even though we were in disbelief, we managed to reach this moment. I cried with relief, because after so long, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders," she told the outlet.
Originally published on Latin Times.
