She had been missing since Thursday but the shock that 17-year-old Bruna Nunes has been found murdered and apparently sexually assaulted on waste ground near her home in Aljezur is still reverberating around the Western Algarve as PJ police hunt her 33-year-old stepfather.
Friends, colleagues, teachers and relatives were plunged into mourning on Monday as news that Bruna’s body had been found began circulating on social media.
Described as someone who was “always smiling, always happy”, the youngster was discovered with her hands tied and signs that she had been asphyxiated.
There are also “suspicions that she may have been a victim of sexual abuse”, say news reports – though these can only be confirmed after the autopsy, which will be taking place at the office of legal medicine in Portimão.
Meantime, the hunt is on for Bruna’s stepfather, described by neighbours as an aggressive man who could become very violent after he had been drinking.
According to Correio da Manhã, Bruna’s distraught mother Lília maintains her partner had appeared “completely normal” in the days following her daughter’s disappearance – but then on Saturday, he too vanished from the family home in Aldeia Velha.
CM reports that the man is being considered as the principal suspect in this case that has completely devastated the local community.
Tributes to the “beautiful girl” with the magical smile have been pouring in on Facebook, with heartfelt messages also from the rollerblading clubs that knew her as an accomplished sportswoman.
A particularly poignant tribute was left by Patinagem CCR Válega, which recalled Bruna’s smile at the indoor championships held last month.
“She will remain in our memory forever as the girl with the sparkle in her eyes,” said the club.
But CM reports that there must have been sadness behind the sparkle. A message left by the youngster on her Facebook page in May talked about her no longer being able to “cope with the suffering”.
Police will now be unravelling Bruna’s tragic story as a community in Aljezur and schoolmates at Júlio Dantas school in Lagos remember the pretty girl whose life has been so brutally shattered.
By NATASHA DONN
news@algarveresident.com
Heartbreak as 17-year-old with magical smile is found murdered in Aljezur
