And from a murder conviction to an acquittal for two men accused of one of the most cruel murders we've reported on.
That date March 11th, 2017 is forever ingrained in Shirley Mai's mind. That was when her daughter's body was found in a dumpsite on the outskirts of Belmopan. Except at that time, she didn't know it was her daughter. It would be a couple days later that she would see 18-year-old Keona Ara's burnt and mutilated body lying in the morgue, identifiable only by her tattoos.
Keona had been stabbed several times, her throat was slit, and other grotesqueries performed, before her assailants lit her body on fire and dumped her.
It's been a grueling five years for her mother and, to her devastation, it ended in a not guilty verdict.
But despite this judgement, Mai isn't giving up, and now she is reaching out to the public to assist her. She explained via Zoom the turmoil she has had to endure at the hands of a fragile justice system and the immense, un-eraseable grief she has had to learn to live with.
Courtney Menzies has this story.
Shirley Mai, Mother of Deceased
"When I was in the courtroom and I saw they looked at me and they gave this, I think you would call it the perfect smile, at the moment, I felt that like I could get them one second I think I could kill them with my bare hands."
"It's hard for you as a mother to say I will let go, because you cannot let go, it's something you keep seeing in your head."
It's been five years that 50-year-old Shirley Mai has been living with the death of her 18-year-old daughter, Keona Ara. Keona was brutally murdered and her body was found in the dumpsite on the outskirts of Belmopan.
And last month, the two men accused of her murder, 27-year-old Jaime Pattnet and 25-year-old Shaylon Santos, who were charged exactly five years ago today, were found not guilty.
And Mai told us today via Zoom that she knew in her gut that she wouldn't get justice for her daughter, despite assurances from the police department. And then she had to watch in real time how Keona's case fell apart.
Shirley Mai, Mother of Deceased
"From the beginning, I was in that courtroom from the start to the end and I know the case was going somewhere where only God can bring it back because the files started to go missing. I went back to the police station, I spoke to a high ranking officer and I told him this is what going on, t his is what happening, this is what taking place. He said, Ms Mai, do you trust the police department? I said, yes, he said well there is no way those guys can walk, we have strong and solid evidence that can convict those guys."
But then the key evidence, a recording of the main witness' statement, went missing, and Mai lost hope, especially since the witness had recanted the statement.
Shirley Mai, Mother of Deceased
"The owner of the house, when the case was going on she gave five statements, and the five statements said that when she went back to the house, the house smell of strong Clorox from the bathroom, the rug was changed, the curtain was changed and then she went back and she said that, oh I only gave those evidence because the police threatened to revoke my supreme court bail, that's why she said that."
And all of this culminated into the not guilty verdict, passed down on February 23rd. And for the past 21 days, Mai says she has been trying to get an audience with the DPP to no avail. But now the deadline for appeal is up and Mai is no closer to justice. Now. She says that she can't give up just yet and is asking for support from the public - in any form - financially, morally, or just some advice on what she can do.
Shirley Mai, Mother of Deceased
"As a mother, a single mother, you only could come up with the ideas but you know you need the support because then like as I said, her father passed away 2000, Keona was four years old, and I was the one that was putting her through high school, she was about to graduate June, I worked at prison, I worked with the police department, I worked at traffic, and not I work at Western Regional. Work hard to provide for my family, my kids, I wanted her to graduate because her dream was to go to BDF and she was about to go to BDF."
"It's hard and now you will tell me, the case done, I find them guys not guilty and that's the end of the world? Not for me."
But while Mai continues her fight, old wounds were ripped open after the not guilty verdict. And while those men are free to roam the streets, Mai said that she lives in the prison of paranoia.
Shirley Mai, Mother of Deceased
"I always make sure my phone have credit and I call my kids every minute. I want to know if they are okay. When I go to sleep at night, I try to secure the house the best I could. When I'm working in the night, I call them and I tell them, make sure the house is locked up. It's a fear you're living in and I just wish it would stop."
"I wake up in the morning and like, Keona room was next to mine and I would wish I could just see her back in her room, I wish I never heard she get killed in this manner because she wasn't sick, she wasn't a sickly child, she was healthy. And I wish I could sit on the verandah and see that big smile come running through my yard from school in the evening. But then you can only wish."
"At least they had already stabbed her, they already slit her throat, at least they could have left her in the house and went about their business, they didn't have to take her to that garbage dump, they didn't have to burn her. That's the part that… I wish I didn't even go to the morgue to identify her because… the two piece that stands out in my head are the morgue [and] the judge that said I find you not guilty. Those two. If I could just get somebody that could go in my head and erase it out. But it's hard. Because you can't take it. You're always seeing this body, this little piece of thing that burnt up like some meat that's left on a grill. It's like you forgot you were barbequing and you were partying and when you check back on the meat, this is what happened."
Mai believes her daughter was killed because she was a witness in another case, and not because of jealously like the police had initially thought.
As you heard, Mai wants to meet with the DPP to discuss the next step forward. Today, we reached out to Cheryl Lynn Vidal about the case. In a statement, she explained that the evidence of the Prosecution connecting the accused to the offence came from witness Ischelle Tablada, whose statement was allegedly lost. It should have been forwarded to the court as well as the DPP's office but it never was and when Vidal went to inquire at the Clerk of Court, it still could not be found, which led her to make an official police report. She said that an investigation had commenced but the police never shared the results of the conclusion to the complainant, despite requests.
In regards to the audio recording, Vidal said she called an officer whom Mai claimed informed her of its existence, but this officer denied any knowledge of it. Vidal's statement says no recording was ever mentioned on file or produced to the prosecution.
While the written statement was eventually gotten from the police database by the Clerk of Court, the witness, Tablada, said she feared for her life. Another statement was recorded and submitted to the court. But at the close of the case, the judge ruled that given the surrounding circumstances and the evidence led by the Crown, he was not satisfied that the Tablada statement could be safely relied upon.
However, in regard to Mai's attempts at meeting with the DPP, Vidal said that she had never been informed that Mai had asked to meet with her on this case and there is no record of Mai having visited any of the three branches of the Office of the DPP to see her.
The DPP's statement then says, quote, "I am aware that the prosecutor and legal assistant who worked on this case put every effort into presenting the best possible case to the Court… I agree wholeheartedly with Ms Mai that efforts were made to frustrate the prosecution of this case, but I would humbly advise her to cast the aspersions where they should actually be cast." End quote.
But the DPP also noted that since the written judgement has not been delivered, the 21 days allotted before an appeal has not started as yet. However, the DPP adds, while the decision as to whether an appeal can be made can only properly happen after the written judgement is delivered, the circumstances of this case, the rationale given by the judge's verdict and the applicable principles of law do not suggest that an appeal is likely.
As for meeting with the mother, the DPP says she would and added, quote, "I can imagine what she is going through knowing that no one has been held accountable."
