Gislayne de Deus’ lifelong fight for justice finally paid off last week
A woman who made it her life’s mission to put her father’s killer behind bars has revealed what she said when she finally came face-to-face with the gunman.
Gislayne Silva de Deus was just nine years old when her beloved dad, Gilvado, was shot dead after a fight erupted over a £50 ($66) debt.
Raimundo Gomes was rowing with the father-of-five in a bar in the Brazilian city of Boa Vista on 16 February, 1999, when he left to retrieve a pistol.
He returned and shot Gilvado, 35, in the head before fleeing into the night – leaving Gislayne’s mother a widow, and his five daughters to grow up without a father.
Warrants were issued for Gomes’ arrest, but he went on the run, and when police could not track him down, they had no choice but to put a pin in it.
Gislayne, on the other hand, couldn’t rest knowing that her dad’s murderer was out there somewhere.
Gislayne Silva de Deus dedicated her life to finding her father’s killer (AscomPCRR/GIslayne Silva de Deu)
It prompted the 36-year-old to dedicate her life to finding the gunman, and making sure he didn’t get away with robbing her and her four sisters of their father.
The determined daughter studied hard to earn a spot in law school at the age of 18, and seven years later, she was a qualified solicitor, before she then swapped careers in 2022 to become a police officer.
She spent time at the Monte Cristo Agricultural Penitentiary during her career, and revealed that while she was working inside the prison, she ‘always imagined’ seeing Gomes getting slung into a cell to pay for his crimes.
“My first post as a policewoman was in a penitentiary, and I whenever I arrived there I always imagined seeing him arriving to serve his sentence,” she said. “That always motivated me.”
Eventually, she joined the force’s General Homicide Division (DGH), with the intention of reopening her father’s cold case and cracking it herself.
She was just nine years old when her father was shot over a small debt (AscomPCRR/GIslayne Silva de Deu)
At the time, the last arrest warrant for Gomes had been issued in 2019.
After a boatload of persistence and stellar detective work, Gislayne’s lifelong fight for justice finally paid off last week when she and her team apprehended the killer in the Roraima state in north Brazil on 25 September.
According to reports, she tracked him down to a farmland hideaway situated on the outskirts of Boa Vista.
She later shared footage of her confronting Gomes a quarter of a century after he gunned her dad down.
Gislayne triumphantly told the frail-looking man: “It’s because of me that you are here, and you are now going to pay.”
Following his arrest, Gomes has been locked up for 12 years for the 1999 murder – a sentence which had already been imposed by the Jury Court of the Court of Justice of Roraima while he was still on the run.
Speaking of the closure she felt, Gislayne continued: “With his arrest, I washed my soul and that of my whole family.
“Today we have peace and the feeling that justice has been done.
She finally came face-to-face with Raimundo Gomes 25 years after the killing (AscomPCRR/GIslayne Silva de Deu)
“His arrest represents not only the reparation of an injustice, but also the power of perseverance in the name of justice.”
The mum told Brazilian news outlet G1 that she broke down when she saw Gomes for the first time.
“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 sad. “It was an explosion of feelings that turned into tears of relief, as it seemed like this day would never come.”
She described her father Gilvado as an ‘honest and hard-working man’ who loved his children.
She said: “He spent time helping us with homework and timetables. He was always very close to us and caring.
“My sisters and I went through really difficult times after we lost him. What happened could easily have sent us on a different direction, but our mother always taught us to follow the right path.”
“”I want this story to serve as an example to other children who, like me, lost their mother or father in a violent way.”
Featured Image Credit: AscomPCRR/GIslayne Silva de Deu
