Last night a Belize City man was shot execution style at a spot that is quickly becoming one of the city's most dangerous hangouts. 28-year-old Alberto Saragoza was with a female friend in a car, at Old College Beach off of Caesar Ridge Road, when they were ambushed by two men. Saragoza was killed while the robbers and his female friend escaped. Police are tonight searching for those two suspects while the victim's family which has had more than its fair share of grief is mourning. Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting, Email - [keithkswift@gmail.com]
For the second time in as many months, this picturesque seaside hangout known as Old College Beach was the scene of an ugly murder. This morning the blood of last night's victim 28-year-old Alberto Saragoza Jr. was visible on the scene where he was executed with a single gunshot to the top of his head. 'Betito' as he is commonly known was at old college beach with a female friend in this Toyota Corolla when he was ambushed by two men dressed in black. His brother Randolph Audinett was the last family member to see Betito alive and he says his brother was lured to his death.
Randolph Audinett, Victim's Brother
"I think my little brother just got lured to his death. He was in his car with me last night around 9 o'clock, r a little after 9, and he just said, 'Cobra I am going to take a little drive and I'll be back.' That is the last time I saw my little brother alive. Someone just took his life so simply. Somebody told me that he passed with another girl in the car, that was the last we heard and after that he got his death."
Keith Swift,
So he went to Old College Beach with this girl and you believe he was set-up. Can you think of any reason why?
Randolph Audinett,
"I think the motivation was a robbery because they found his wallet out of his wallet and they found him lying down a little distance from his car so the motivation of this case was a robbery."
Betito's body was found at a spot where it had been dragged out of the car and his wallet had been emptied. Police say his killers may have tried to drive away in the Corolla but it became bogged in the mud. And while Betito was in the car with a female, it wasn't his girlfriend of 14 months Christy Carcamo. The last time she saw him was when he dropped her off at work yesterday afternoon.
Christy Carcamo, Victim's Girlfriend
[Sobbing] "Yesterday I was changing my clothes and he sat on the bed
and he started to watch me. I asked him what was his problem. He said nothing. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. Then after that he said life was sweet and I told him don't worry about it. He then took me to work at 3 o'clock and he said he would come and pick me up at 11 last night. That was the last time I saw him and then I got a call last night at my work."
And around the same time that Christy got the news that her boyfriend was dead, Betito's mom Angelina Allen, who was still mourning the death of her sister-in-law yesterday morning, was informed that her son had been murdered.
Angelina Allen, Victim's Mother
"After 9 I was talking about his aunt that died in the morning, yesterday morning, and so I told my husband that I was going up to Belmopan for the wake. As we were talking about that, I saw my son pass in a pickup with his cousin and he stopped over that side and he told my granddaughter to tell me that they had just shot Betito. She came and told me and I said, 'no don't tell me that.'"
Hard for Allen to believe because 10 years ago, she lost another son to gun violence. And this mother says she has had enough.
Angelina Allen,
"Please try find the killer, please because my son is a easy going fellow. He doesn't give any trouble. He is easy. If you don't talk to him, he won't talk to you. He is easy so I don't know who could do this to my son. I don't know but I would really want them to find the killer of my son because the last one they had killed him and I didn't get no satisfaction, they didn't find the killer and so his life went just like that. I really would want them to find the killer of this one."
Randolph Audinett,
"We just have to keep it in God's hand. God will give us justice because nobody else will."
A demand for justice: certainly not too much to ask for a family, which has seen more than its share of misfortune.
The Saragoza matriarch, Angelina Allen, got the news yesterday that their sister died of cancer. Alberto Saragoza's brother Omar was similarly killed ten years ago. He was only 19 at the time and his murder is still unsolved. Alberto's cousin Mark Saragoza was killed in September of 2003. There were two arrests but no convictions.
As for the murder scene, Arleigh Guild was killed at Old College Beach on May 31st of this year. He too was dragged out of his car and shot in his head while the female escaped. Police have since charged 3 youths including a 17 year old for that murder. Police haven't said if they believe the two murders are related.
