Driving a taxi has once again proved to one of the deadliest professions in Belize City after another taxi man was killed sometime last night or early this morning. Rudrick Todd's body was found this morning off the Western Highway near mile 3. 7NEWS was there looking for answers.
Alfonso Noble Reporting, Email - [alfnoble@yahoo.com]
At 7:30 this morning, the body of 39-year-old Rudrick Todd was found on the shoulder near to mile 3 on the Western Highway.
ASP Chester Williams,
"Sometime around 7:45 am this morning the police were called to mile 3 ½ on the Western Highway where the body of Rudrick Todd, a 39 year old resident of no. 2 Castle Street, Belize City, was found with a single gunshot wound to the right side of the back of the head. We're looking at the investigation as a possible robbery motive. His vehicle, which is a green taxi, was also stolen.."
Kenneth Garbutt, Owner of Stolen Car
"It's a 1989 Capri Classic, green, and the license plate number is D-3369."
Kenneth Garbutt is the owner of the vehicle that Todd was renting to make his taxi runs from the Cinderella Taxi Stand. Garbutt says he last saw Todd alive yesterday afternoon when he paid him for the use of the car.
Kenneth Garbutt,
"He used to drive the car for me as taxi; I rented it out to him and
he paid me for it. I spoke to him yesterday about 2:30, he paid me some money, and that was the last time that I spoke to him. It really surprised me because I don't know if its robbery, or I don't know, but its really really sad. I am not really worried about the car, my concern is about the family of this guy. I didn't have any problems with him, he paid me, and my sympathy goes out to his family."
More sorry that Rudrick was killed is his brother Kevin who says that last night around nine he saw and spoke to his brother at home.
Kevin Todd, Victim's Brother
"Last time I seen my brother was when I was watching the basketball game last night at 9 o'clock. He came in and he asked me who was winning. I told him who won the game because the game was almost over at that time and he went into his room and grabbed something. I went back to my room and grabbed something and I told him I'm leaving the house now and I ended up leaving and that's the last time I saw him. When I left home at 10, after I picked up my friend from work, on my way coming back I passed by the taxi stand and I saw him and I blew the horn at him and he waved at me."
Alfonso Noble,
Around what time was that?
Kevin Todd,
"That was around 10:30. And after I blew the horn at him, I proceeded to go to my friend's house and that's the last I saw my brother alive."
Now Kevin is at a loss to figure out why anyone would want to kill his brother whom he describes as an easygoing person who had very few friends and even fewer enemies.
Kevin Todd,
"My brother was one of those quiet persons. He didn't hang around with many people or have too many friends. I was the one with more friends than him, a social life. He didn't socialize with too many people, he stayed by himself, he worked at the taxi stand, and he just tried to earn his own money that way by being self-employed. The vehicle he was driving is missing so whoever shot him took the vehicle as well and all his belongings, his money, his cellular. I am trying to hold it in. You could cry and let out everything that you can but I'm just trying to put the puzzle together and who would do that to my brother."
Kenneth Garbutt,
"I'm a taxi driver myself and that's one of my greatest concerns because you don't know who is who. I don't know everybody that comes to take my taxi so I just have to be a little more cautious in who we are taking. It's not to say the same thing can't happen to us but it's a great concern to us. We are trying to serve the public and anybody is a member of the public."
It's a scary thought that once again has taxi-men in the city being more careful of whom they pick up as they placed black ribbons on their vehicle antennas to again mourn the loss of one among their ranks.
Rudrick had been a taxi man at Cinderella Taxi stand for about two years. He started driving the green taxi that is still missing about three weeks ago.
