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SANTA CRUZ: Even as the sleepy ward of St Agostinho, Santa Cruz was stunned to learn of the murder of 69-year-old Luisa Maria Dias, many villagers were aware of the heinous crime only after reports appeared in the media on Tuesday.
When Herald contacted residents in the area for their comments on the shocking incident, they could only say that they knew only as much as what had appeared in the media. Most of them did not even know where the murder had taken place.However, the house owner, Ana Fernandes, who rented out the room to the victim, said: “Luisa was a soft spoken person who eked out a living by doing tailoring work.”
“I knew the victim for some time now as Luisa would often visit our locality and was known to the locals in the area as she was a tailor.”Fernandes also said that nobody had visited her during her 15-day stay. “The last time I saw her was at 9.30 pm on Saturday when she said that she is not feeling well and went to her room,” recalled Fernandes.
“Luisa would get up daily at around 7 am. It was only at 7.30 am on Sunday morning that I realised there was something wrong as Luisa did not respond to my calls,” Fernandes said. “I immediately reported the matter to my neighbours, who advised me to call up the police.”
When questioned whether she heard any noise during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, Fernandes replied in the negative.
