Mothers Plea For Window Cleaner

Detectives say the window cleaner and keen footballer, who had no criminal links, was the victim of  mistaken identity. 

Mother’s plea for answers five years after her son was shot dead at home: The family of a man gunned down  at his home in a case of mistaken identity today made a fresh appeal to find his killer. 

On the fifth anniversary of his death, the mother and girlfriend of Ricardo Cunha are calling for answers and asking for help in their fight for justice.

The 23-year-old was shot in the head as he looked out of the window of his flat in West Norwood after somebody knocked on the door at around 11.20pm on September 11, 2010. Detectives say the window cleaner and keen footballer, who had no  criminal links, was the victim of  mistaken identity. 

His mother, Maria Cunha, said: “Five years have passed since we lost our boy and we still don’t have answers about what happened and why his life was taken away so cruelly. Nothing will bring our Ricardo back to us but I want whoever did this to my son to pay for what they did.”

She added: “Ricardo had his life ahead of him, so many plans and it was all stolen from him. I don’t know how on earth someone could do this to Ricardo. Five years have passed but there is not a day that goes by that we don’t cry for not having our Rick here with us. So I strongly appeal to anyone out there that has information to come forward and help.”

In 2011 Metropolitan Police issued an image of a 1924 Webley Mark Six Revolver which may have been the murder weapon. They believe it could have been kept as a keepsake, with the possibility that it may have been stolen in an unreported burglary before finding its way into the hands of the killer. 

Detectives know that the same gun was fired during an incident on the Clapham Park Estate in Brixton three days after Mr Cunha’s murder. Mr Cunha’s girlfriend, Sapna Daby, said: “I do not think people understand the pain me and his family have been through for the past five years. “We are still seeking answers and for someone to come forward with information.”

Detective Inspector Alison Hepworth, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command at Scotland Yard, said: “Ricardo was a young man who was mercilessly gunned down and those responsible for his death have  continued to live their life whilst Ricardo was robbed of the chance of living his. 

“We believe that someone knows who shot an innocent man in his own home. With the passage of time allegiances can change and we are directly  appealing to those who for whatever reason did not come forward at the time to use this opportunity to come and speak to us now.”