This afternoon, the Caribbean Court of Justice handed down a judgment in the appeal of a murder conviction of Belizean Hernan Manzanero. He was convicted of the 2011 murder of 45-year-old Domiciano Quixchan, a taxi driver in Bullet Tree Falls in the Cayo District.
The victim's murder made headline news because of the story his convicted killer, Hernan Manzanero, told police. He claimed that on November 28th, 2011, he and his common-law wife, who was 17-year-old at the time, boarded Quixchan's vehicle along with their baby who was only 20 days old at the time. He hired the taxi man to take them to a village in the Cayo District.
Manzanero told the cops that while they were on the Pine Ridge Road in the Cayo District when they were supposedly robbed by two black men. They supposedly boarded the vehicle and ordered the Taximan to take them to a feeder road in San Antonio Village in the Cayo, where he was stabbed and his throat was slashed. It turns out that this entire story was one big lie that Manzanero told police to try and cover his tracks.
The cops later found out that Manzanero believed that Quixchan was sexually involved with his common-law wife. While they were in his vehicle, Manzanero, who was sitting in the back, pulled out a bread knife and raked it across Quixchan's throat. Manzanero's wife and new-born baby, who were sitting in the front passenger seat, were forced to witness the violent incident play out.
After his throat was slashed, Quixchan got out of the vehicle and attempted to escape from Manzanero. They struggled and that's when Quixchan got control of the knife and sliced Manzanero to the left side of the face. He allegedly attempted to try and de-escalate the violence, but Manzanero aggressed him and stabbed him to death.
Manzanero was later convicted in a trial without a jury. He appealed that verdict and failed at the Court of Appeal. His attorney made a second attempt at the Caribbean Court of Justice, and this afternoon, the judges handed down their decision via teleconference.
With video provided by the CCJ, here's a short summary of the facts that came out in the original trial, which was summarized by one of the presiding CCJ judges:
Here now is a summary of the CCJ panel's reasons for dismissing Manzanero's appeal:
So, as you heard, the CCJ has dismissed Manzanero's appeal reaffirmed his conviction.
