Breaking News: Thiago Jotta Da Silva Dead a Week After Assassination Attempt

According to news reports from Xinhua and CRI English, Thiago Jotta da Silva died Wednesday in the Hospital Sagrado Filho located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after being shot on Sept. 18. He was 25.

Silva once played for the football (soccer) team of Vasco da Gama and was most recently a member of the Second Division Team Estadio da Soccer Club.

According to the same reports, Alyne Padula Viana, Silva’s ex-girlfriend, and her aunt, Marcia Padula Viana, were arrested and taken into custody on Sept. 21 for possible involvement in the homicide. Another person arrested was Marcia Padula Viana’s companion, Alexandra de Freitas da Silva, for possible involvement in the homicide.

I would like to express my condolences to Brazil, the family of Silva, Vasco da Gama, Estadio da Soccer, and the Brazilian national football team for the tragedy that has befallen them. I would also like to express my anger at this latest assault on human life, especially when it comes to a sports figure that was beginning to bloom and had a lot to offer to the world.

The tragic death of Silva has been a loss to Brazil, his family, world football, and the world of sports as a whole. While the world is waiting for what will transpire, there is no reason in the world for an innocent life to be taken.

I cannot speculate on the details of what may have transpired since; that is for the courts to decide. The fact that the Padulas, as well as de Freitas da Silva, played a part in Silva’s death is a possibility taking into account that quarrels between lovers, friends, and family members are being resolved in increasing numbers by the barrel of a gun.

This tragic loss is similar to what happened to Texas-Mexican singer Selena (circa 1995) when she was shot and killed in a hotel in Texas by her ex-manager, Yolanda Saldivar. Selena was 23 years old, within weeks of becoming 24 years old. Saldivar is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment.

I hope the same fate is handed to Alyne Padula Viana, Alexandra de Freitas da Silva, and Marcia Padula Viana for the killing of Silva, if they were indeed the perpetrators.