Realtor Was Slain While Trying to Sell Home

Friends and Family Mourn Man Who 'Was So Good to Everyone'

A Beltsville Realtor whose body was found in the basement of a Bowie home Friday was apparently killed while trying to sell the house, police said yesterday.

The owner of the vacant house discovered the body of Samuel D'Costa with multiple gunshot wounds, Prince George's County police said. Investigators arrived at the house in the 12800 block of Ninth Street about 1:30 p.m.

D'Costa's burning car was found Thursday on Daisy Lane in Glenn Dale, about three miles away, but no connection was made immediately, police said last night.

Police did not say whether they have found a motive in the killing.

Friends and family recalled D'Costa, 36, yesterday as a family man who was shrewd at business, skilled at sports and caring to many in the area's Bengali Christian community.

He was entering his prime, relatives said, with a new home, a new business and two infant sons -- one of them 6 months old.

D'Costa, whom everybody called Shankar, was born in Bangladesh and immigrated to New York about 1988. He first lived with his mother in New York, said brother-in-law Samuel Gomes, D'Costa's friend since third grade.

He studied briefly at St. John's University in New York, then moved here to be closer to his sister and Gomes.

D'Costa married Lucia, who also was from Bangladesh and quickly became active in the local Bangladeshi community.

"He was so good to everyone," said friend Anna Quiah. When someone in the community died, he was among the first to try to comfort and help their family, she said. "He was always the first one to jump whenever anyone was in trouble."

D'Costa tried many types of business, including investments and retail. About five years ago, he opened a 7-Eleven near New Hampshire Avenue and Powder Mill Road in Hillandale, according to relatives. About two months ago, he opened a sub shop in Jessup.

"He was a mastermind at business," Gomes said. "He could make money out of anything."

D'Costa began considering real estate more than two years ago. He took courses and the necessary tests and began working in the area.

A woman who answered the phone at Re/Max Sales in College Park yesterday confirmed that D'Costa had been a Realtor there and said he was well liked.

D'Costa was the youngest of four brothers and five sisters. After he became a U.S. citizen, he sponsored his parents. They, his wife, sons and other relatives recently moved from Adelphi to Beltsville.

He played soccer, basketball and baseball, and often talked about taking his children to a baseball game when they were old enough. "Even before he had kids, he would say that," Gomes said. "It was his dream."

Staff writers Clarence Williams and Martin Weil contributed to this report.