PANAJI
A pall of gloom descended in a Quepem neighbourhood after news trickled in that Celio Pereira, who was found unresponsive in his Houston-Texas service apartment by police, had died.
Only months earlier, Celio's twenty-year-old son had also tragically died in the USA in a random shooting incident.
According to acquaintances, Celio was down in Goa in March this year and had last spoken to his sister and mother just a week ago (last Sunday). His family is said to have grown suspicious when their calls to him went unanswered.
Within a few days, the police found him in an unresponsive state during a routine welfare check. His close friends in Houston are now assisting with the difficult process of arranging to fly his body to Goa for the funeral, which is expected to take place later this week.