Three days ago Lorraine Guzman accompanied San Ignacio Police to the city’s morgue along with what she believed to be the remains of her son Pedro Guzman. We say “believed to be” because today the grieving mother told us that she is not sure if it was her son’s remains. Why? Well according to Lorriane Guzman today she made arrangements to put her son to rest in the Cayo District and went to the San Ignacio morgue to collect his remains but to her horror she discovered that her son’s skull was missing.
According to Guzman it was explained to her that the skull was not among the remains but left at the city’s morgue for further investigation but that it would be made available to her on Friday for burial. And while she was trying to find out how a blunder could have been made, that is she was further informed that another bag of remains that was left at the San Ignacio Police Station may be her son’s and not those that were transported to the city morgue on Monday. Guzman said the only reason she had initially identified the first set of remains as her son’s was because his clothing and tennis shoes were among the bones taken to the city’s morgue. Guzman says she is now at a loss as to what to do as she does not know which is which; all she knows is that she wants to finally lay him to rest. She spoke to me via telephone today.
Lorraine Guzman, Mother
“They never told me in Belize City that a part of the remains were missing or I would have never made arrangements to bury my son today until everything was ready. They never told me that some parts were missing. But I didn’t want to bury the rest of the remains without the skull so I left whatever they gave me from the city morgue, I left it here in the San Ignacio morgue.
I am not sure because they are calling me now from the police station and are saying there is a bag of remains there that are smelly so maybe I brought the wrong bones. How I could I bring the wrong bones out, I didn’t go in the morgue and take them out. They delivered it to me.
It is very upsetting because I made arrangements for the funeral, the church. I have the wreaths here on my verandah, my friends are still here, friends and family and it is very upsetting. I have never heard of such a thing; you bury any remains without especially the skull.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So what will you do now because you’re not sure which remains are that of your sons?
Lorraine Guzman,
“Jackie I really don’t know what to do at this point. I really do not know.”
We were unable to get comment from Cayo Police.
