Not your average cop

Gloria Pucciatti (25) of Waterkloof, Pretoria, is not your average policewoman. Of Italian parents, she was a Miss Italy top ten finalist, and in 2003 was first princess in the Miss Tukkies beauty pageant. Gloria wanted to do police work but her parents were not too happy with her career choice, so a compromise was reached and she studied psychology at the University of Pretoria (UP) after matriculating from St. Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Hillcrest. While studying, she was mentored by a group of Garsfontein policemen who developed her interest in forensic investigations. At the age of 20 she became a police reservist. Gloria enrolled for a M.Sc. in forensic sciences through North Central University in the USA. She spent three months doing a practical course in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. Her parents came to South Africa in the 1960s. Gloria used the Miss Italy beauty pageant as a way to build contacts in the Italy. She was able to work with the Italian military police, doing a diploma in ballistics and forensic investigations. She was happily working in Italy until, while on holiday in South Africa, she met Nelson de Castro, a Portuguese businessman. Gloria decided to return to South Africa permanently, and is currently doing a course through Unisa and modelling part-time.