An anonymous tipster known as “John” in a Providence police affidavit emerged as a pivotal figure in the investigation into the Brown University shooting on December 13 that claimed the lives of two students and injured nine others, as well as the subsequent killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days later.
Described in the affidavit as a homeless man who is articulate and reliable, John sleeps in the basement of the Barus and Holley building on the Brown campus. His observations and numerous encounters with the suspect, later identified as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, provided critical details that helped law enforcement connect the dots.
After police released images of a person of interest, John took to Reddit to share his recognition of the individual, posting that authorities should investigate a grey Nissan sedan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. Encouraged by other users, he contacted the FBI, and police were alerted to his tip on December 16.
John’s encounters with Neves Valente began hours before the attack when he spotted the suspect in the bathroom of the engineering building, noting his clothing as “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather.”
Outside, mere blocks away, John observed Neves Valente abruptly turn away from the grey Nissan upon seeing him, sparking what John described as a “game of cat and mouse,” the Associated Press reported.
The two repeatedly crossed paths, with Neves Valente fleeing each time.
At one point, they stood just feet apart, and John yelled, “Your car is back there. Why are you circling the block?”
The suspect responded defensively, saying, “I don’t know you from nobody,” and repeatedly asked why John was harassing him.
Eventually, John saw Neves Valente approach the Nissan again and then walk away.
This tip about the vehicle proved instrumental, as investigators used it to review surveillance footage and license plate reader data, and subsequently traced it to a Massachusetts rental company.
Police obtained video footage and a copy of the rental agreement to confirm Neves Valente as the suspect.
Neves Valente was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in New Hampshire on Thursday, The Dallas Express reported. Along with the body, police found a satchel and two firearms that matched evidence from the Brown University shooting.
“He blew this case right open. He blew it open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Nerohnha said about the tipster at a news conference. “That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel.”
It remains unclear if John will receive the $50,000 FBI reward offered for information on the Brown shooting, though Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks indicated it was a logical possibility, affirming John’s key role in the case.
