Tonight police say they have no suspects and no motive for the murder of a young man in Belize City last night. The victim is 20-year-old Sherwin Yarwood. He lives in West Landivar but his body was found in the Southern Foreshore area and that is where we pick up the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This is the spot, 15 feet away from his bicycle, where Sherwin Yarwood's body was discovered this morning but he was killed last night. Neighbors in the Southern Foreshore Area report hearing gunshots around 10 pm. Yarwood was found in Victor Manuel Pineda's front yard. Pineda and his wife didn't hear the gunshots because their t-v was blaring but his wife did hear what might have been Yarwood's final scream.
Victor Manuel Pineda, Area Resident
"My wife said she heard a man bawling and then she turned down the TV volume and again she heard the man bawling. I was sleeping and we didn't come out to check what is the problem."
And Pineda says he didn't check outside because this area is dark at night and he feared for his own and his family's safety. He and his wife did leave to go to work at 3 am but she didn't see the body when she walked unto Dean Street. The body was found hours later around 7:40 when a neighbor was heading to work.
Victor Manuel Pineda,
"When Miss Gina was going to work, she saw the man lying here and she hollered and asked me if the man lying here was dead or just sleeping. I opened the door and I saw the man dead."
Sherwin was found with what appeared to be a bullet wound to the back of his head and facial injuries. This lot on Southern Foreshore is a great distance from his home in West Landivar and he was found 12 hours after he told his mom he was going out.
Julia Yarwood, Victim's Mother
"Last night at about quarter to seven. The last thing he said to me was, 'mammy I'll be back."
Julia Yarwood asked for us to not show her face and she is asking for something else - this one is aimed at whoever gunned down her youngest child.
Julia Yarwood,
"The only thing I'd like to say to whoever did it, just come forward and say Ms. Yarwood I did it and just give me the reason why. Be brave. The person was bold enough to shoot him, so just come out and say they did it."
And while his family grieves, the man's in whose front yard the discovery has another fear.
Victor Manuel Pineda,
"I am fearful because I have my family. I have children, my sons and daughters. They were here this morning seeing this man. It is a problem because perhaps someone could ambush us without me having a problem with anyone. This is a tough problem."
And while Yarwood did have some history with the police, they say, and Yarwood's family agree, his previous run-ins in the law were mostly based on complaints made by his family to the police.
