The city witnessed another murder last night. And it happened right in the heart of town. But it wasn’t gang related or some turf war; the victim was a homeless man. Jacqueline Godwin found out that he was ruthlessly killed on the same streets that he called home.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Police believe that this man Twenty four year old Harrison West Smith is the person who fatally stabbed Lionel Welcome better known as “Sleepy” early this morning.
He was known as a homeless man who slept mostly in the city’s downtown area and washed cars to make money. Around two this morning, he was seen running up Albert Street shouting that he had just been stabbed. According to the victim’s friend, 57 year old Adam Davis also known as “Brambles”, he was making his way to the Battlefield Park where he also resides, when he saw Welcome running and clutching his chest.
Adam Davis, Friend/Witness
“The man di bawl and he had his chest held up so and the wound was in here so either up or down and he was holding his chest hard. That is what you call butcher, it was a strong man who did him that.”
Welcome made it to the corner of Orange and Albert Streets just across from the Belize Bank when he collapsed. A mobile police patrol that was in the area came upon the victim as he lay face up on the ground.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
“But no sooner had police transported the victim to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, they were back on the streets quickly following up on information that had surfaced about what had transpired. And just four hours after Lionel Welcome was murdered, they had their suspect in custody.”
According to Aaron Guzman, the officer in charge of CIB in Belize City the officers were able to speak to Welcome who gave them some information that directed them to the accused. Persons who were in the area at the time have also been cooperating with the investigation.
Aaron Guzman, O.C. CIB, Belize City
“I would like to appeal to a taxi driver who was out there on the scene and left the area. Now it might not be that he saw the total incident but whatever portion he saw, whatever he saw there, it would help the police in their investigation. It is important for residents to understand for Belizean citizens to understand that you just might have a piece of the puzzle that we may need and it is only by cooperating with the police that you are looking out for your neighbors and it helps us to solve cases and make Belize a safer place.”
“We do not know if the motive is robbery, we do not believe the motive is robbery. It is not gang related obviously there was no fight so it leaves me to speculate and the police to wonder as a society then what can we do because obviously the police vehicle was in the immediate area, it was only about two minutes lapse when the police came off Regent Street so we have patrols out there and for me to speculate the exact motive is wrong but as a person I can say that it saddens me to see that we would see a homeless person being murdered in our streets.”
But the word on the streets is that Welcome was stabbed because he may have tried to stop his killer from robbing a woman.
Adam Davis, Friend/Witness
“He said that he was trying to help a woman weh the man mi di try teef, so if that is true the man who juk him must have gone to him when he run from the man. Once he see the man, he must di run while the man di look for teef the woman, so the man must have juk him. The man juk him I no know if it was for the reason he say.”
But could it have also been an act of revenge? Those who knew the victim say he could put up a good fight and there were many who challenged him regularly.
Adam Davis, Friend/witness
“People want him to fight them because he was brave and pretty strong because every time they worry with him soh, maybe he decide to revenge the man, right? The man could not lose a fight anytime they come for him, the whop, whop whop, he could not lose a fight.”
The police conducted a search at Smith’s family home but so far they have been unable to find the weapon that was used to inflict the single stab wound But Guzman says he is not concerned and believe they have charged the right man.
Aaron Guzman, O.C. CIB, Belize City
“We do not have a murder weapon. It is an instrument with a point. It could be a knife, it could be a machete, it could something sharpened as a knife so we know that it is an instrument with a point. And we do not have a murder weapon but based on the witnesses that have been interviewed so far, we are confident.”
Adam Davis, Friend/witness
“The person who stabbed him was on a bicycle? That is what I heard that the person was on a bicycle. The boy who got stabbed said that he was on a bike. He said a man stabbed me who was on a bike and then I said that is not right. Then he said he try to go and stop the boy from theif a woman. Once you try to stop a boy from a theif a woman you watch out because he will come back, true?”
Lionel Welcome’s murder has also raised another concern. There are just too many homeless people back on the streets. Guzman says they always tell their mobile patrol officers to encourage these persons to use the shelters available.
Aaron Guzman, O.C. CIB, Belize City
“We would like to see relatives of these persons encourage them to stay off the streets and you as a family member don’t take in your relative as homeless, encourage them to go to the shelters that are available to them because this morning about 4:00 a.m., I counted 13 persons sleeping around the Belize Bank area there and the park and in front of Hofius so I would appeal to relatives to get their loved ones off the streets and also you must realize that it is also raining, it was raining out there this morning and it is cold enough out there and I think these persons should be taken care of. Like I said there are shelters out there for them but apparently they do not use these accommodations regularly and I would suggest that they do use them.”
This afternoon Harrison West Smith was taken over to Magistrate court where he was arraigned on the charge of murder.
For 7News, Jacqueline Godwin.
In court today Smith was remanded to the Hattieville Prison until December 20. Just last month, Smith was acquitted of the February 2006 murder of Reynato Logan.
Welcome himself had only come out of jail a few days ago. He had been convicted of theft, served his time and was released from prison last week Wednesday, December 5.
