It was a holiday weekend of terrifying, sustained gang violence in the city that injured 9 people and killed three. We'll tell you about all that in details shortly - but we start in Cayo - where a teenager was killed.
To tell the full story of his family's panorama of grief, for background we have to go back to July of 2010, which witnessed the worst traffic accident we'd seen in years: almost an entire family was wiped out, including three small children, in one explosive impact.
Contractor Albert Neal was the only member of the family who survived: two of the children, aged 7 and 5 were his, and he had to bury them along with his ex-wife, Irania Rubio.
And, tonight he is preparing to bury another child, his eldest, a 15 year old son, Albert Alex Valdez. But this teenager was not killed in any accident; he was murdered, stabbed to death, allegedly by his own friends on Sunday night in San Ignacio Town.
To lose three children to sudden deaths is an unimaginable burden and today Neal told us he is holding up, but just barely:…
Albert Neal, father
"Jules when they gave me the news, I don't know if I was standing up or sitting down but I thought I was going to collapse right there. I hold my head and I just said 'good Lord, what's next for me? What next?' I had just ask the young man to come and work with me so I can teach you this trade to the max so that you can make money from it. He said ok dad and he start working with me and he was supposed to return but return in a different way."
Jules Vasquez
"What as you understand it is the circumstances surrounded his death?"
Albert Neal, father
"I had no idea what transpired Jules, rumors around is that the guy is a very good friend, he lives in and out the house and after he committed the crime he went back to the house and sat down and ask if they saw Alex like if he didn't do anything. But this don't look like its only one person, it looks like there are someone else involve. It looks like the job of two people. If you see the cut on Alex's neck - it's like they wanted to cut it off."
Jules Vasquez
"You lost four of your kids and all at a very young age, before they even become adults. Albert I have to ask you, how do you manage this? Where do you get the strength?"
Albert Neal, father
"Well you just ask the good Lord; I ask him what's next for me? I come to this morgue again and the guy saw me and says 'Mr. Neal, I want to find your strength' I said to him that I find my strength by asking the good Lord to help me. That's where I get the strength from. It's not something that was plan. No man wants to bury his son. But unfortunately these are the things that surround you every day. The nature of crime is a disease that has no cure. But like I say again, I hope the law does justice on this, because they have the guys, let them pay their time for the stupid crime that they did. I will bury my son and let him rest in peace. What else will come after this Jules, I don't know."
Valdez had a large cut wound to his throat, a stab wound to the left side of his chest, and a large cut wound on his left hand. He died shortly after arriving at the San Ignacio Community Hospital.
He was stabbed in an alley between Eduardo Luna St. and Blue Bird St. in San Ignacio Town where police found a bicycle with a small Silver knife on the wheel.
2 young men have been detained: one is 17yrs and the other 16yrs. They will be charged tomorrow pending advice from the DPP.
