Brazilians tried to murder Birmingham transvestite, court told

Aug 18 2009 By Ross McCarthy

A furious woman who believed a transvestite had stolen property from her, including a Louis Vuitton handbag, showered him with petrol at his home in Birmingham, before setting him on fire, a court has been told.

Ricardo Da Silva suffered “horrendous” injuries as a result of the attack in Digbeth and was only given 50 per cent chance of survival when he was taken to hospital.

Gabryela Passos had earlier sent a “chilling” text to her friend warning him of the “nightmare” she was about to inflict on the victim, Birmingham Crown Court was told.

Passos, 29, of Hogarth Road, Earls Court, and Raphael Modesto, 22, of Villiers Street, Charing Cross, both London, have denied attempting to murder Mr Da Silva, while Modesto has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson with intent.

Peter Grieves-Smith, prosecuting, said Mr Da Silva, aged 25 at the time, and the two defendants are all Brazilian nationals and that Passos and Modesto had previously stayed at the victim's flat at Avoca Court, in Digbeth, where they had left some property behind.

He said that the defendants returned to the flat on the evening of December 8 last year when Passos demanded to know where her handbag was.

Mr Da Silva told them that he did not know where it was and also claimed that a computer which contained Passos’s “memories of a life time” had been stolen, said Mr Grieves-Smith.

Armed with a sense of grievance Passos phoned a taxi driver friend in London asking him to pick her up from Birmingham and also sent a text message asking him to bring five litres of alcohol, he said.