Today at noon we received the call that a man was dead in a house on Richard Sidewalk. Here at 7NEWS we knew that one reporter who'd have all the stats on the story was Richard Hulse, a long time resident of the street named "sidewalk." But, instead, it was quite the opposite, Richard Hulse was the dead man, a revelation that prompted a collective gasp across the media where he was a well-liked and highly regarded colleague, noted as Belize's most senior and distinguished court reporter. Tonight, we'll pay respect to Hulse's unique style, but first, we look at the tragic and tawdry circumstances of his death.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This afternoon police investigators carried Richard Hulse's dead body out of his yard on Richard Street. Hulse was found murdered inside this small house he called home. He was nude and blood was on the mattress and on the floor - and lying in the blood were his copious and legendary court notes. The television was also left on and so was the light outside. Howard Brice made the discovery around 11 am. He asked that we not show his face.
Howard Brice, Found Body
"This morning when I came to work I noticed that the door was open and it was not normal. So I was doing deliveries to and from work and I realized that is open too long. So my boss' wife called me and asked me if he was there and asked me to go and check if he is back there. When I went to look, when I looked in the door I saw the lifeless body of Mr. Richard Hulse. He was face down so I couldn't really see his face...he was nude. He had on no clothes, he was naked."
Hulse was stabbed multiple times. He also had a cloth and a pillow on his face. CIB Commander Supt. Chester Williams says it is early in the investigation.
Supt. Chester Williams, C.I.B. Commander
"Basically like I mentioned, we will look at every possible angle that we can look at in our investigation."
And Hulse's close friend of 15 years Gilroy Cargill has one angle the police should be looking at it. He says Hulse was normally in the company of young men and he told us he had warned Hulse numerous times. Unfortunately those warnings weren't heeded.
Gilroy Cargill, Friend of Deceased
"Those boys always went to Richard's house asking him what is up and what will he do. Sometimes even when the house wasn't there, they would go in there and sleep with him."
Keith Swift,
Do you think one of the boys that he always brought to the house may have killed him?
Gilroy Cargill,
"Yes. Some Spanish boys used to come and hail him and all kind of boys used to come and hail him."
Keith Swift,
What was his response, what did he used to say when you told him about your concern about the company he was keeping?
Gilroy Cargill,
"It was a very bad company. He said he didn't care about that and told me not to get into his business. I told him okay. When it came to that, I kept far. Me and him were friends but when it came to that [bleep] business and boys company, I kept away from him; I kept far from him."
It is a suggestion CIB Chief Chester Williams is open to. Williams says there is a strong possibility that Hulse knew his killer.
ASP Chester Williams,
"From how it occurred, we are certain that the person or persons responsible for the murder are people that he are affiliated with so we will look at his friends, people who visit him on a daily basis and we will start our investigation from that end."
Keith Swift,
Could there have been more than one killer?
ASP Chester Williams,
"At this point in time I will not say if it is more than one. Like I said, we will look at person or persons responsible. So we cannot say if it one or two or more."
And one of those persons isn't Hulse's brother Dean Hulse. He was detained this afternoon but as Williams would later explain, he was taken into custody because the problem is that barged onto the crime scene.
Dean Hulse, Brother Deceased
"They won't give me a chance to see my brother and to harass me on top of this, what they are doing iks detaining me...for absolutely no reason."
ASP Chester Williams,
"Whenever the police are on the crime scene it is important to us to maintain the integrity of our crime scenes and one way of doing so is to avoid people from trampling on our crime scenes. It does not matter if it is a family member or friend, we must respect the police line. We have tapes which we use to cordon off the area and no one is permitted to go beyond those tapes. So I will appeal to people, if the police are on a crime scene, please respect the crime scene."
Gilroy Cargill says he will miss Richard Hulse because he was more than just a friend. Hulse always looked out for Cargill. This afternoon that long friendship abruptly ended when he learnt of his neighbor's death.
Gilroy Cargill,
"We had good relations. Sometimes we would quarrel, run jokes, talk politics, and watch movies together. I will miss him because he is always my protector."
Dean Hulse, Richard's brother who had been detained was released from the police station this evening. Police are investigating, but have no substantial leads, it's of note that Hulse becomes the fifth man to be found dead in more or less similar fashion in the last 8 years. Between Belize City and Cayo, four other men - all older than 45 were killed by multiple stab wounds, and left either partially or completely naked, and bathed in blood, four of them were on or near beds.
