Simone Barreto Silva
Died 29 October 2020
Who they were
Simone was born in Brazil and had lived in France for 30 years. A single mother of three, she had trained as a cook and worked as a carer for elderly people. She had once been a samba dancer. She had come to the basilica to pray. Gravely wounded, she managed to escape to a nearby restaurant, where, according to witnesses, she said: "Tell my children I love them."
What happened
On the morning of Thursday 29 October 2020, a man armed with a knife entered the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption in Nice and killed three people. He was shot and arrested by police at the scene. In February 2025 a special court in Paris sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole; he has appealed, with the appeal trial set for December 2026.
Verdict / confirmation
Cour d'assises spéciale de Paris, 26 Feb 2025: life without parole (perpétuité incompressible) for 3 terrorist murders + 7 attempted. Appealed – appeal trial scheduled 7–18 Dec 2026 (BFMTV).
Status: Appealed – appeal trial scheduled 7–18 Dec 2026 (BFMTV)
Perpetrator: A 21-year-old Tunisian national who arrived irregularly via Lampedusa in Sept 2020 and reached France weeks before the attack (franceinfo, Le Parisien). Islamist terrorist attack.