Stab death of ‘peace-abiding’ Brazilian stuns community

GARDAÍ are awaiting the results of a post mortem examination of the body of a 47-year-old man who was found dead from stab wounds at a flat.

The body of Alberto Doprado-Oliveira, a father -of-three, was discovered at a first-floor flat in Main Street, Charleville, Co Cork shortly after 10pm on Thursday.

Mr Doprado-Oliveira had been socialising at the flat with four other people, one of whom reported the incident to the local garda station. It is believed the deceased man had wounds to his neck and hand and died just before gardaí arrived at the scene.

The Brazilian had lived in Charleville for two-and -a-half years and worked at the Galtee meat factory in the nearby village of Ballyhea. He shared a flat with his wife Sueili, aged 45, just across the road from the building where he died.

The couple’s three children, all live in Brazil — two of them in their 20s and another aged 16.

Mrs Doprado-Oliveira had only joined her husband in Ireland four months ago and started working at La Scala Italian restaurant in Charleville.

Yesterday, she was being comforted by friends and members of the 120-strong Brazilian community in the town.

Fr Sean Lawlor, who is chaplain to the Brazilian community, described the incident as a shocking episode. “He was a very peace-abiding man and very well known among the Brazilians, because he was a bit older than the normal Brazilian here. He was 47 years of age; the normal Brazilian here would be in or about 27 to 30 years of age,” he said.

Fr Lawlor said Mrs Doprado-Oliveira was “very upset and shocked” as were his many friends in the Brazilian community who described her husband as a father figure.

He said that Mrs Doprado -Oliveira was anxious to return to Brazil to bury her husband there. “This will cost around €9,000 and we will have local collections to raise it,” Fr Lawlor said.

Family friend Sonoa Correia described Mr Doprado-Oliveira as a “lovely guy”. “He came here to better himself,” she said. He came from a village near Anapolis, in central Brazil and was also described as a great worker and a generous man.

The four other Brazilian who were in the flat voluntarily gave information to gardaí and were not arrested. It is understood they told gardaí that the wounds had been self-inflicted.

The scene was visited yesterday afternoon by Chief Supt Mick McGarry, Det Supt Tony Quilter and Supt Barry McPolin.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau carried out a forensic examination of the flat, accompanied by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster. A knife was found at the scene and gardaí carried out house-to-house inquiries locally.

Mr Doprado-Oliveira’s body was taken to Cork University Hospital where Dr Bolster performed a post mortem examination.