A well-known resident of Crooked Tree Village died in police custody over the weekend, and his loved ones are questioning the police account which says that he committed suicide in the cell block.
On Saturday night, 56 year-old Lindberg Anthony, aka "Bug 9", was picked up by cops who say that he was drunk and disorderly. He was placed in the holding cell for the Crooked Tree Police Sub-station, and only a few hours later, his lifeless body was found in a cell, he had allegedly hanged himself from one of the grill windows in the holding cell.
The cops say he took his own life, but his family reject that completely. 7News went looking for answers in the quiet, Belize Rural North village. Daniel Ortiz reports:
Daniel Ortiz, reporting
Police say that 56 year-old Lindberg Anthony, a well-known mechanic of Crooked Tree, committed suicide inside the village's Police Sub-station. Anthony's family doesn't believe them for a second. They say that there are inconsistencies with the very scant details police have shared with them, and they think that the cops are behaving as if they have something to hide.
It all started on Saturday night when - according to police - they detained Anthony for being drunk and disorderly. They say that they took him into custody at about 7:45 p.m.
ASP Alejandro Cowo - OC, CIB Belize City
"Ladyville police were called to the Crooked Tree Police substation where upon arrival they observed the motionless of a male person hanging from the windows of the substation cellblock."
"Lindberg Anthony, a 56 year old mechanic of Crooked Tree Village. He was observed to be tied to the rickets of the window using part of his clothing that he has allegedly torn apart and that is what he used to hang himself."
"What police gather so far is that Mr. Lindberg was out in the village socializing and apparently was disturbing other people that were in the area and as a result one of the called and complain about his behavior and as a result police detained him and took him to the station. That incident complaint came at about 7pm in the night."
While Anthony was in police detention is where the police and the grieving family cannot agree. The cops say that he hung himself using his own shirt:
ASP Alejandro Cowo
"Up to now, we don't suspect foul-play. There are several check that have been made by the police just prior to him being found hanging from the windows of the cellblock."
But, Anthony's family isn't prepared to swallow whole the police version of events. His family members and friends say that suicide was never going to be his cause of death. Seen here in this cellular phone footage of a this block party footage, "Bug 9" - as he was known - is described as an easygoing individual who was an entertainer by nature. But his one big flaw was excessive drinking - in fact, some from Crooked Tree say that he was one of the village's drunks.
They all agree, however, that while under the influence, he was harmless, who would most likely insult those who crossed him.
His family has been carefully considering the small details as shared with them by police, and they say that there are inconsistencies that the cops aren't yet addressing.
Voice of: Stacy Garbutt - Daughter of the Deceased
"I don't really believe that story, because I didn't see it in him and whole day on Saturday he was with us and I remember the last thing before he left our house he told us that he would never ever kill himself. My point of view why I think different is that the place where he hang himself is high up and I'm trying to figure out how, if he is so drunk, how could be reached up there, tie something to hang himself. Because he was drunk. So how could he just climbed up there and tie something and hang himself if he was so drunk and there was no chair or anything there to say he would have stand on - no kind of support. Up to now none of our family members are able to see the body. They won't let us see the body."
"On Saturday night when we went inside they didn't want us to take any phones, no pictures. It's like they didn't want us to go and see anything - like they are covering up or hiding something."
Betty Westby - Neighbor/Friend of the Deceased
"I have known him for countless years and I would never ever believe that he would do something like that. He wouldn't. That's just my feeling."
"It's sad because I am for the policemen. I believe that they are needed and that most, maybe some or most they do a good job. But all we are saying here in this particular situation is we want closure. We want this thing investigated, so that we can be at peace and we can really put him to rest. It's like we need them, but then we want them to be truthful."
Reporter
"Is there a internal investigation being conducted?"
ASP Alejandro Cowo
"Of course there is. Once it is in the police detention, an internal investigation is carried out from the same night by members of the Professional Standard Branch."
Anthony leaves behind 3 daughters and several step-children. The post-mortem is scheduled for tomorrow, and as we told you, his family is watching every step of police's investigation. His family alleges that Anthony has had run-ins with a police officer, and they allege that this cop once beat him up, and threatened him. These alleged disagreements have fueled the family's suspicion.
They are not pointing fingers at this officer at this time, however, and they say that they are waiting for police's investigation to progress. They expect full disclosure after the investigators had their opportunity to comb through all the details and evidence.
