Named: the devoted mum killed at school gates
THE mother who was stabbed to death in front of her children outside a Surrey primary school on Friday has been named as 39-year-old Aliny Mendes.
The Brazilian-born motherof-four was killed during the school run while cradling one of her young children in her arms.
Terrified witnesses described seeing a man leap out of a black 4x4 and stab the mother in broad daylight near the gates of Meadow Primary School.
Police chased down two men after they fled the scene. A man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of murder. A second man, in his 50s, has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and was still being questioned last night.
Police confirmed that at least one of the suspects ‘was known’ to the stayat-home mother.
Other parents frantically tried to resuscitate Ms Mendes before paramedics and an air ambulance arrived. She was airlifted to hospital but doctors were unable to save her.
Floral tributes were left at the school gates, with one note reading: ‘You were so warm and such a wonderful mum. There are no words.’
Father Gianom, a priest at St George’s Catholic Church in Epsom where Ms Mendes worshipped, said: ‘She was full of life. She had three boys and a girl, the youngest. She was dedicated to the family. Every day she got up at 4am for the children. She made a lot of sacrifices for them. She was a really nice woman.’
Saher Zaidi, who lives near the school, said Ms Mendes had a child in her arms when she was stabbed.