Man gets 29-year sentence for stabbing woman
NEW HAVEN — After hearing a tearful statement from the parents of Alyssa Guerrero, who was stabbed to death shortly after she turned 21, and an emotional apology from defendant Mateus NascimentoDacosta, a judge Friday sentenced him to serve 29 years in prison.
“This was a heinous and cowardly act,” Superior Court Judge Gerald L. Harmon told the defendant. “She had a promising future. She was a light that shined for a lot of people.”
Nascimento-Dacosta, 21, of Danbury, had admitted to police he killed Guerrero, who was his girlfriend. During an argument he stabbed her while they were in her Meriden apartment on May 2, 2018.
After Nascimento-Dacosta was charged with murder, he and his attorney worked out an agreement under which he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and violating a protective order. The 29-year sentence, which specified 20 years for manslaughter and nine years for the second count, was part of the plea deal. This enabled the state not to have to put him on trial.
The defendant, who had not had a chance to make any statement during two years of pre-trial hearings, came to the courtroom Friday morning carrying a written message several pages long. He was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and a protective mask.
The victim’s parents, Ciro and Jeannie Guerrero, were also there with a written statement they had composed together. He sat by his wife’s side as she read the statement in court while struggling with her emotions.
“Our daughter Alyssa turned 21 years old on April 29, 2018,” the statement began. “Four days later she was (killed) and left to die by Mateus NascimentoDacosta.”
They noted their daughter “was beginning to find her way in life.” She had graduated from college and was pursuing a career in engineering. She landed a job at Floyd Manufacturing in Cromwell and was advancing rapidly there.
“Alyssa had a big heart,” her parents said. “She was caring, devoted, funny and a good friend. She loved her siblings, especially her two younger sisters. Alyssa was selfless and thoughtful. She was beautiful and stunning. She had a thirst for life.”
They added, “She was our heart and soul.”
The parents noted their daughter “was a good friend to Mateus. She helped him get a job, helped him get off drugs and even put up bail for him. She tried to help Mateus stay out of trouble. She fed him when he was hungry and had no money.”
But they said he “betrayed her.” They recalled alleged incidents that led to the protective orders: trapping Guerrero in his residence, pushing her to the ground in front of neighbors. The parents said they noticed bruises on her body. But they said their daughter was “a forgiving person.”
They recalled the defendant telling her: “If I can’t have you, no one can.” They said he “stuck to his word.”
“He doesn’t deserve to have a life or have a family of his own,” they said. “Alyssa will never have the opportunity to have a life. Mateus does deserve the death penalty. To us Mateus will always be a murderer.”
The victim’s sister, Marierla Guerrero, had her statement read by Victim Services Advocate Christie Ciancola. “Alyssa was like a second mom to me,” she said. “She was my best friend when no one else wanted to be.”
She added, “I lost something that can’t get brought back: my best friend, my sister, my second mom and a piece of my heart.”
Claude Blouin, who was the victim’s supervisor at Floyd Manufacturing, read a statement calling her “a gifted person.” He noted she had been selected to be sent to California to enroll in an engineering program. “A few weeks after her death, one of the teachers said she had been accepted into the program.”
Defense attorney John Bowdren told Harmon that Nascimento-Dacosta, a Brazilian national, came to America “on a raft” when he was 5. Then his parents got separated. “Without any siblings, he felt lost and lonely. He was not high on anybody’s priority list.”
By age 13, Bowdren said, Nascimento-Dacosta was “using illicit substances” and after that became addicted to narcotics. “He had no guidance, no direction, no coping mechanism.”
According to Bowdren, Nascimento-Dacosta and Guerrero were attracted to each other and felt a common bond. But Bowdren added, “As good as she was for him for substance abuse, there was a toxic co-dependency.”
Bowdren described the defendant as “a young man who doesn’t really know what the definition of love is or a healthy relationship.”
“Mateus didn’t set out to take Alyssa’s life,” Bowdren added. “He snapped. He lost his cool. He’s not a monster. He’s not a murderer.”
But Assistant State’s Attorney Reed Durham cited Nascimento-Dacosta’s series of previous arrests for larceny, probation violations and violations of protective orders.
“She was beginning her life,” Durham said. “She was headed in the right direction. The defendant was not.”
Durham called the plea agreement “fair,” although the victim’s family wishes the defendant was getting more prison time or the death penalty.
When Nascimento-Dacosta got his opportunity to speak, he pulled out his statement and began by saying: “I apologize for what I have done. Words cannot take back from what I have done to your daughter. No words will take away the pain and suffering I have caused.”
“I have so much regret that I’ve taken Alyssa’s life,” he said. “I hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me one day.”
Echoing the words of the victim’s parents, he said: “Alyssa was my heart and my soul. Nothing will be the same without her.”
While the parents listened with their heads bowed, Nascimento-Dacosta said, “Alyssa did not deserve this. No one deserves this. I’ll have to live with shame and guilt for the rest of my life. I miss Alyssa every single day.”
Before Harmon imposed the sentence, he told the defendant: “You’re going to have to live with this for the rest of your life. There shouldn’t be a day when you don’t think about this.”
Harmon said the sentence is fair, although he acknowledged the Guerrero family is not satisfied. He cited Nascimento-Dacosta’s young age and legal guidelines about sentencing young defendants.
“It’s a sad day for everyone in this courtroom,” Harmon said.
After court was adjourned, Ciro Guerrero said, “Homeland Security dropped the ball. Police (in Brookfield) had him in custody more than three times. The police called Homeland Security to tell them and they told police to let him go and to stay out of trouble. If Homeland Security had done their job, our daughter would still be alive.”
A message seeking comment was left with the public affairs department of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nascimento-Dacosta will face a deportation hearing when he is released from prison. “We’re trying to move on,” Ciro Guerrero said, “but without assurances he’ll be deported.”
(Contact Randall Beach at randall.beach@hearstmediact.com).