Two weeks on from the abhorrent murder of a young mother in Ewell, the close-knit community is still shaken.
On Friday 8th February in the middle of the afternoon, Aliny Mendes, 39, was brutally attacked by her estranged husband while walking along the London Road in Ewell. She died as a result of multiple stab wound injuries at the side of the road.
Residents of the parish are still traumatised and in disbelief that such a brutal event could have occurred in broad daylight and along one of the busiest roads in the area. Ewell is a small and welcoming village close to Epsom and until now, felt safe and detached from the horrific knife crime that seems to plague other parts of the country.
Speaking to local residents it is clear that everyone is finding it hard to comprehend such violence so close to their homes. Vicki Harris lives near to the scene of the murder and commented “it’s just terrible. Even though it’s a domestic incident, it’s really scary to think such an attack could occur here. It’s made me really wary about going out with my children and I know other Mums feel the same”.
Ricardo Godinho, 41, has since been arrested and charged with Aliny’s murder. He is due to appear at Guildford Crown Court on 15th March for a pre-trial plea hearing. Although no further information has been released by the police about the attack, social media has been rife with photos of the accused with his children, from whom he was separated.
A Justgiving page set up by friends of Aliny has already raised £57,000 to pay for a lawyer to help her children and to repatriate her body to her family in Brazil.
