Their deliberation was long but the verdict was decisive as a jury this afternoon convicted a Honduran man for brutally stabbing his ex-girlfriend with an ice pick and then kidnapping and raping her.
26-year-old Lauriano Ramirez was found guilty of aggravated burglary and rape for the incident, which occurred on February 26th, 2004 in Belize City. The jury of 6 females and 3 males deliberated for nearly four hours before arriving at the verdict. Ramirez's 31-year-old victim told the court that on the night in question, Ramirez showed up at her door and argued with her for about an hour. She says he later pulled out an ice pick and stabbed her numerous times on her arm. He then forced her onto his bicycle and took her to a house near the Lord Ridge Cemetery where he raped her. Ramirez who isn't fluent in English was undefended. His defense was that he was at home sleeping when the accused was terrorized. Police did however find the bloodied ice pick in his bedroom.
Ramirez is facing life in prison for the rape conviction and a 10 year maximum for the aggravated burglary. Justice Michelle Arana will sentence him on Thursday. Senior Crown Counsel Marjorie Moyston prosecuted.
