Local landlord acussed of killing immigrant

Editor’s note: The following story was provided courtesy of the staff of El Tiempo, a newspaper in Ecuador; it also includes reports courtesy of the NewsTimes staff. Translated by Emanuela Lima and Mariza Davila

The Ecuadorean man who died in November after an apparent beating on Town Hill Avenue in Danbury left behind a wife and nine children in his home country.

Luis Encalada Bueno, 42, was buried by his family on November 29 in his native town of Zhidmad, Ecuador, 23 days after his death in Danbury.

On January 29, Joseph DaSilva Jr., the owner of the Palace Theater on Main Street in Danbury and numerous other properties in the downtown, turned himself in to police on homicide charges in connection with the death.

DaSilva, 50, a prominent figure in the Danbury community, was charged with first-degree manslaughter, firstdegree assault and two counts of thirddegree assault. He was released on $100,000 bond pending his appearance in Superior Court in Danbury Feb. 9.

Joseph DaSilva Jr. Police have reported that Encalada was found seriously injured in the driveway of an apartment building on Town Hill Avenue on November 6, and that he died later that day at Danbury Hospital. Police have not provided any details of the supposed altercation that led to his death.

SEVEN-YEAR STAY

Encalada’s family said he emigrated to the United States seven years ago, seeking to earn an income that would help improve living conditions for his family, which includes five children 18 or younger, one of them with special needs.

Encalada lived in Connecticut for the full seven years, working in construction. During the last few weeks of his life, he reportedly found himself unemployed and without money.

“He told us he was looking for work, that things were not good over there, and that his intention was to stay for another three years and to return home,” explained his wife, Hortensia.

“He came home dead,” she said.

In late November, Encalada’s family mourned his death in the living room of their humble family home, where family members spent much time in the days leading up to his burial. Three floral arrangements and candles surrounded his coffin. Family members said there were signs of his alleged beating on his hands, head and face.

Encalada was well known in his parish, and his death came as a shock to neighbors, friends and relatives, who came to pay their respects and to give the family their support.

Encalada’s widow, Hortensia, said she couldn’t possibly find consolation for her loss. She said she is also extremely worried about the condition in which she has been left— she is without work and must provide for eight of the couple’s nine children, as well as finding the means to pay a debt of about $10,000 that her husband had incurred to fix their the house.

Encalada reportedly had already paid off $14,000 of an original debt totaling $24,000.

SEEKING JUSTICE

Sonia Encalada, one of Luis’ daughters, said she feels a strong resentment toward the person responsible for the death of her father.

“Nobody had the right to take his life,” she said. “They killed him. We want those responsible to pay for it.”

Family members said they feel impotent in seeking justice since they do not have the resources and do not know anyone in America to help them in their despair.

“We do not have any family to help us handle anything, only a friend of my father’s—the one who did the paperwork so that we could send his body back home,” said Sonia Encalada.

The family said their greatest wish is to find the person responsible for the death of Luis Encalada Bueno.

In the event of any type of compensation, “We would be grateful, because we are poor rural people,” said Elsa Encalada, another daughter of the deceased. They also hope to be notified concerning the details of the Danbury Police Department’s investigation.

“We need help for the children, of nine and ten, to remain in school,” related Hortensia. “But they want to drop out of school to work and help.”

To help keep the children in school, the family has asked for assistance from public institutions for scholarships. They said that this would help realize Encalada’s dream of seeing their children become professionals and never be in need.

As his widow, Hortensia, explained, “My husband always dreamed of giving our children the opportunities he did not have—to study and not suffer the way he did when he was a kid—looking for work instead of going to school.”

Investigation

The day after Luis Encalada was found dying on Town Hill Avenue, Danbury police searched an apartment in a nearby building owned by Joseph DaSilva Jr.

According to a search warrant affidavit on file in State Superior Court in Danbury, two witnesses told police they fled the second-floor apartment at 58 Town Hill Ave., “after getting into a confrontation” with a person they believed to be the landlord, leaving Encalada alone with the man.

The affidavit does not say what transpired after the two witnesses left the building. But a few hours later, just before 1 p.m. on Nov. 6, Encalada was found lying unconscious in the driveway of a neighboring apartment house. He died later that evening at Danbury Hospital.

A doctor at the hospital told police Encalada suffered a lacerated liver, bruising on his abdomen and a swollen hand, injuries the doctor said were “consistent with an assault,” according to the affidavit. The 50-year-old DaSilva, who lives in New Milford and is one of Danbury’s largest property owners, surrendered to police Friday after they obtained a warrant charging him with first-degree manslaughter, firstdegree assault, and two counts of thirddegree assault. He is free on $100,000 bond pending a February 9 court appearance.

Under Connecticut state law, a person is charged with first-degree manslaughter with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, when he or she causes the death of that person or causes the death under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance.

DaSilva is the only person charged in the case, Police spokesperson Capt. Thomas Wendel said on February 1, stating that no additional arrests are expected. Police have so far released few details about their investigation. The arrest warrant affidavit is sealed, according to Danbury State’s Attorney Steve Sedensky, who said he did not know when it would be made public.

The search warrant affidavit indicates police checked the apartment for evidence of a crime of violence, including weapons, fingerprints and bodily fluids, but it doesn’t specify whether any such items were discovered.

But it does provide some details about what occurred preceding the discovery of the injured 42-year-old victim, an Ecuadorean national who had been in the United States for about seven years.

An autopsy conducted by the state medical examiner indicated Encalada died from a combination of a lacerated liver, blunt force injuries, and exsanguination, meaning he bled to death.