The extent of the tragedy of the 45-year-old Portuguese man, savagely beaten to death in Crawley, West Sussex, UK, over a week ago has finally emerged.
João Esteves had travelled to England from Lisbon to look for work. He was not having any success and did not have the money to return to Portugal.
He tried checking into a shelter for the homeless in Crawley, but as there were no available beds, staff simply gave him some blankets so that he could sleep outside.
“A little while later, he was killed,” wrote Correio da Manhã newspaper.
Meantime, the Crawley News revealed that Esteves had been earlier helped by airport staff and even policemen at Gatwick airport, which is where he had been preparing to stay the night.
They were the ones who had given him the address of the shelter, and suggested he go there for some support.
A 23-year-old Crawley man appeared before magistrates last week charged with Esteves’ murder, while police are still asking for witnesses who may have seen the attack.
Esteves’ sister has since travelled to England to collect her brother’s body.
