There are 6 homicides to report tonight, and 5 of them happened this weekend, 4 of them in the Belize Rural Central area. It is a staggering total and we begin at the scene of one of the most violent killings in recent memory. 7NEWS has been on the story since dawn and Jules Vasquez reports.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
It's a feeder road just off the northern approach of Haulover Bridge; it goes for about half a mile and runs parallel to the Belize River. But this morning it was the circling "jankros" not the river that would announce it as a doorway to death.
At 5:30 this morning in the scarce dawn light, this was the scene as police and BDF
guarded the area after a harrowing night of violence that saw police witness two killings on this single stretch of road, measuring about half a mile. By 6:00 am - Press Officer G. Michael Reid was on scene questioning police about what had happened during the night.
And what happened nearly defies description. On Sunday at 5:30 pm, police were called to this area by a nearby resident. They found the decomposing body of a Hispanic man whose throat had been slit. He carried no identification, and in fact only love letters written in Spanish were found near him.
Because of the advanced state of decomposition, and fading light, the post mortem was set for the next morning. So a pair of constables were left to guard the scene. At night, the road is blanketed in darkness, and infested with mosquitoes. But last night it was more than all that, it was murderous.
At about 11:00 pm, a maroon van drove into the road. A man and woman got out and another person then shot them both right here. The woman idnetified as 24 year old Keeva Leslie died instantly while the man, identified as 32 year old Dorian Michael, was still alive. As police watched nd listened to the gunshots from about 200 meters away, they ran to his rescue when the van left. He would die a few hours later at the KHMH.
Police say the van had been captured in a carjacking - and the murder was preceded by an armed robbery at this gas station on Freetown Road.
ASP Chester Williams, CIB Chief
"We are somewhat convinced likewise that the van may have been stolen or as you say jacked from these individuals and during that time, the van was used to go and commit the robbery at the gas station. Subsequent to that they went up the road where these two persons were shot which resulted into the murder. So that information we have it likewise and we are also looking at it."
So what was wrong with police? How could a double murder have been committed so close to where they were posted? They fired no shots and were apparently powerless to stop it.
ASP Chester Williams,
"Basically Jules where the incident occurred, the police officers were more up into the feeder road. These persons in the van did not go all the way to the location where the police officers were and the incident occurred so quickly that by the time the police were able to respond, the van had already sped off and the persons were already shot. So basically it was not because the police did not want to do anything or stood watch while the incident occurred. They saw the van coming into the road and they stopped a good distance from them, where the persons came out of the van and they shot the people and they drive off. So there was no time for the police have done anything."
Jules Vasquez,
Would protocol have indicated that when you hear shots being fired, you should
respond with fire or what ideally should have been done in that situation?
ASP Chester Williams,
"Well basically (with) the distance it would have been fruitless for them to fire shots just like that without knowing what or who they were firing shots at so we do not believe that there was any infractions done on the part of the police officers or them neglecting their duties. They did what they could have done."
Did what they oculd but still there are three deaths on one small stretch of a picado in 36 hours. A staggering sequence, and as the morning light broke over the mangrove canopy, close to 6:30 a crime scene team scoured the scene of the second and third deaths looking for clues that will lead them to the answer. By 8:00 am forensic pathologist Dr. Mario Estradabran was on the scene with officer commanding Ladyville Police Inspector Chris Noble doing the on site post mortem for the first death, the one that was found on Sunday afternoon.
Estradabran prepared his report shortly after but it will be sometime before Police and BDF can declare this road safe again. Nonetheless, Officer Commanding Eastern Division ACP Crispin Jeffries says this is not a crime wave.
ACP Crispin Jeffries,
"Yes we had a weekend of discovery and deaths across the country. I am certainly going to say to you that we believe that the media will want to sensationalize the numbers."
What you heard Jeffries say is 4 murders, while we reported five. We assume he was referring to the four murders in the Eastern Division because there was one more in the Orange Walk District that we'll tell you about shortly.
