Joana Gomes Nunes

Joana Nunes (1945 - 2002)

Brief overview:

Joana (56), was shot in the head during a robbery at Brilliant Fast Foods, Florida, Johannesburg, on 06/07/2002

Nino Nunes (24), a student at the Rand Afrikaans University, was forced at gunpoint to lie on his stomach while one of the robbers shot his hysterical mother in the head "to get her to keep quiet". Teresa da Silva, the murdered woman's sister, said on Monday: "He heard a shot - when he looked up, his mother was lying in a pool of blood behind him. The men ran out of the café with R500 in change."

Paramedics managed to get Joana Nunes' heart beating again, but she died on arrival at Flora Clinic on the West Rand. Four men entered Brilliant Fast Foods in Florida apparently to buy a packet of chips about 20:00 on Saturday night. One suddenly pulled out a gun and demanded a firearm and cellphone from Nino. "When he said that he did not have anything like that, he was called a liar, told to lie on the floor and a gun was pressed against his head. Joana started to scream and begged them to let him go. Then the shot rang out."

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • José Nunes, who was in Madeira for his father's funeral at the weekend, heard about his wife's murder only when he arrived at Johannesburg International Airport on Monday morning. A doctor had to sedate him for shock.
• Funeral/Memorial
• The Street/Suburb
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)
  • The Nunes and Da Silva families have been in the fruit-and-vegetable and café businesses on the West Rand for 30 years. After 15 armed robberies and two break-ins in the past three years, they are not sure whether they can go on. The Da Silvas' café in Joubert Street, Roodepoort, was robbed six times in 1999 and 2000.
  • Da Silva's husband was tied up every time there was a hold-up. Their café in Anstruther Street in Discovery has also been robbed since and the shop has been broken into twice. Armed men robbed Joana's eldest son five times in his shop in Lyndhurst in the past two years. Da Silva said: "They also robbed Brilliant Fast Food twice last year, but my sister did not want to give up everything and leave." According to her, two people have been arrested in connection with the Discovery break-ins. "But, to this day, we do not know what happened to the case."

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • R500
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction

Additional Biographical Information:

• https://www.gendatabase.com/deceased-record.php?q=3655126&r=JOANA%2...

Links to Media articles:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20020802025125/http://www.hixnet.co.za:...