A former UDP town councillor in Corozal was murdered over the weekend. Javier Castillo was stabbed to death inside his home sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning. But the question tonight is who killed the upstanding citizen and committed teacher. Could it have been his lover or was it another straight up home invasion robbery? We went north for answers.
Keith Swift Reporting,
59 year old Javier Castillo was found murdered inside this home he lived alone in at 39 Fourth Street in Corozal Town. His younger brother Enrique Castillo found him on Saturday morning.
Enrique Castillo, Brother of Murder Victim
“The neighbour called us, she saw some windows broken, and they are aluminium so she said what, something is wrong; aluminium is not just easy to break. When I arrived I saw it and the hole was covered with a mattress and
that is when I just pulled it aside and I saw him on the floor. I had a friend along with me and I told him to look and that is when I decided to go into the house, it wasn’t locked.
He was lying face up. It seems as though someone just put him to rest there. It is not something like, you saw the violence, you know what happened, all the blood over him, so you figure that when you fall you stay there in any position but not like that, it was too perfect. Why they did it, I wouldn’t know.”
Javier Castillo was partially nude. He had on only his boxers and there were two large stab wounds to his body and a black extension cord around his neck.
Enrique Castillo,
“He was only dressed in his boxers.”
Keith Swift,
“So he had on no shirt?”
Enrique Castillo,
“None at all. So I wouldn’t know if probably his guests surprised him and what not or something. Maybe they went there to have a beer and what not and then they decided otherwise. If it was robbery then it was probably small change because he didn’t have much money, most of it was in the bank.”
Keith Swift,
“Did you notice anything missing from the house?”
Enrique Castillo,
“Well as of now the only thing I have seen missing is his wallet. Usually what happens is that when he is at home sometimes he has friends over, take a couple drink and that’s it. Most likely it was someone he knew or persons he knew and something when wrong.”
Keith Swift,
“So you think it is someone he knew?”
Enrique Castillo,
“Yeah he was probably inside with him but it had to be more than one person because he was pretty stocky. He was more or less an inch shorter than I am but he was more built and to subdue a man like that you really need….you know.”
The flag in the Corozal market square flew at half-mast today as the town mourned
the loss one of its prominent citizens. Javier Castillo was a former town councillor and general election candidate for the UDP. In fact he lived upstairs of the UDP Corozal Bay office on Fourth Street.
There was also mourning at Escuela Mexico where his seat in the teacher’s room was vacant today and art students were making wreaths during lunch break. He had been a teacher there since August.
Carlos Castillo, Principal - Escuela Mexico
“He just started just late August so it was just over a month with us but students and the faculty had already accepted him and even gotten to love him so to speak.”
Keith Swift,
“Were you aware if he was having personal problems or anything of the sort?”
Carlos Castillo,
“The last I saw him was on Friday and he was a happy man so when I heard about his death I was really shocked. He taught when I was principal at CCC and Dean at CJC. He taught at both institutions and he was an excellent literature teacher.”
Insp. James Moreira, Corozal Police
“The police are investigating the matter to discover what happened.”
Keith Swift,
“Does robbery appear to be the motive?”
Insp. James Moreira,
“Well at this present moment we wouldn’t want to speculate if it was a robbery or burglary.”
Keith Swift,
“Any suspects detained?”
Insp. James Moreira,
“We had interviewed about four persons and they have been released but investigations continue.”
Keith Swift,
“Was the house ransacked or was there any sign of a struggle inside the house?”
Insp. James Moreira,
“Well from the police point of view there were about three louvers removed from one of the windows however we are not saying that was the point of entry but I said we are investigating the matter in order to confirm exactly what took place within the building.”
A post mortem was conducted on Castillo this afternoon.
Javier Castillo who would have celebrated his 60th birthday later this month ran in the 1979 general election in the Corozal North division against Valdemar Castillo. He lost that bid and never retried. He had recently returned from Canada and took the temporary job as an English and literature teacher at Escuela Mexico.
