And from that minor drowning, we report now on what was the first murder for the Holiday weekend. That one happened on Good Friday at around 3:45 p.m. in the Orange Walk Village of Guinea Grass.
30-year-old Jose Miguel Cedillo was shot and killed right in front of several of his family members, including his parents. That killer has been identified as his neighbor, 27-year-old Nelson De Jesus Segovia.
According to police, it all started when Cedillo had a dispute with his nieces about $5 dollars they owed him - and he was making wild threats in the neighborhood.
That's when Segovia, the common-law husband of one woman Cedillo allegedly threatened, followed him. Their hard words escalated to gunplay and Segovia allegedly shot Cedillo several times, fatally injuring him. This afternoon, our colleagues from CTV3 spoke with Cedillo's father, Jose senior. He told them that he never expected that a man who had been visiting his home since he was a child, would cause them so much pain.
Jose Cedillo - Father of the Deceased
"(Translation:) I was checking my motorcycle when that man came here to take away my son's life. I told him, where are you coming from? He brought 4 stones, and he threw them at my son. After that, he took out the firearm with this hand and fired shots at my son. My wife was at the door already, and afterward, I saw my son fall to the ground. I had nothing on me, and now I need a lot of help from the law because my family and I are without words. I managed to get a pickup to take him to the hospital. I know the man since he was small, and now, he causes a lot of problems. They were friends because he grew up here at my house. Every day he used to come right here at the front. I never expected that this person would hurt my family and me in this manner, to take the life of my son."
The Police Communications Officer, Fitzroy Yearwood today told the media bout the official investigation into Cedillo's murder:
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Director, Belize Police Department
"The investigations revealed that Cedillo entered a yard and was asking for a five dollars that he claimed 2 sisters had for him. The women ran into their house and they locked themselves in securing themselves. We know that when he was walking away from that yard he threatened a young lady that was in that yard, a lady Daisy Pott, 27 years old. A few minutes later after he left the yard and went to his home, Nelson Segovia, 27 years old, the husband of Daisy Pott went to his home and threw 2 rocks at the house. When he came out to respond to his assailant, 3 shots were fired at him all hitting his target and he was transported to the Northern Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead."
"We know that Segovia is wanted in connection with this murder. This is only my opinion. Tempers flare when people believe that they are being threatened. But, in this case Segovia was not being threatened. He was threatening a woman Daisy Pott and Segovia took matters into his own hands. One, he left that yard and went o his own home. The proper thing to have done was to call the police. By you going to that person and aggravating that person, and that person coming out, that had to be premeditated. So, for you to draw that weapon there is no excuse. I don't care if that person harasses you a hundred times or someone you love a hundred times, call the police a hundred times. Call them a hundred and one."
Police have issued a wanted poster for Nelson De Jesus Segovia, who is currently on the run.
