Former New Bedford Man Who Killed Daughter Sentenced Again

BOSTON (WBSM) — A Brazilian man with a history of violent crime who formerly resided in New Bedford was sentenced to federal prison for illegally re-entering the country.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Walter Gomes DaSilva, 52, was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be served consecutively with his current state sentence of 25 years to life in prison for murder.

DaSilva received that sentence for fatally shooting his 19-year-old daughter Sabrina DaSilva in the parking lot of the Verdean Gardens housing development in July 2016 because he was upset that she was dating a 50-year-old man and didn’t visit him on Father’s Day.

He was also previously convicted of armed assault to murder and domestic assault and battery for attempting to kill Sabrina’s mother.

His latest conviction stems back to December 2019, when DaSilva pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said DaSilva was first deported from the United States in 1999 after being convicted of domestic assault and battery. Sometime after his removal, DaSilva illegally re-entered the United States.

He was deported again in 2012 after serving a prison sentence for a 2002 charge of armed assault with intent to murder in Middlesex Superior Court when he attempted to kill his daughter’s mother. Again, he later illegally re-entered the country following his deportation.

He then was charged with murder in 2016 in Bristol County Superior Court for the killing of his daughter and later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

“Enforcing this country’s immigration laws for dangerous individuals who commit crimes in this country and then return after deportation is critical to public safety. Mr. DaSilva will pay a serious price for the violence he inflicted on our community,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said.

“This sentence sends the right message to any who think they can violate our immigration laws with impunity and get away with it,” said Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston.