And from the drowning of those two children, we now turn to the tragedy in Belize City, where a woman perished inside her burning home on Saturday night.
The victim is 39-year-old mother of two, Tessie Camal. Her common-law husband, Bruce Garbutt, went to work on a night shift. Several hours later, he learned that his home had burned down with his common law wife inside.
Daniel Ortiz has the story:
On Sunday morning, the body of 39-year-old Tessie Camal, a native of the Corozal District, was found dead inside this Belize City home, which she shared with her common-law husband on Fabers Road Extension.
Concerned area residents, police, and the responding firefighters found the home ablaze in the early-morning hours of Sunday.
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Communication Officer, Police Department
"I know that police responded to #45 Fabers Road Extension sometime, at 1 a.m. on the 12th of June, 2022, where a plycem house was seen engulfed in flames. The fire department managed to extinguish the fire, whereupon searching the debris, they found the body of Tessie Camal, 39-year-old domestic of that same address. I know that investigators questioned her common-law husband, Bruce Garbutt, who claimed that he left home around 7:30 on that night, to work at one of the casinos. The neighbors alerted the police and fire department that they saw flames, after smelling what they believe was smoke from that house. They contacted the authorities. We're relying on our colleagues at the fire department to tell us whether or not - or how this fire was started. So, our investigators are just waiting for that information to see how to proceed."
One neighbor told our colleagues from Love News that they eventually realized that Tessie Camal was still inside the burning house. Unfortunately, by that time, the building was already in the free-burn phase. So, they could not force their way in to make a rescue attempt.
Voice of: Neighbor
"When we came out, the house was already in flames, and we tried to assist, but nobody couldn't get into the house because the house was already on fire. His girlfriend was in the house at the time. The neighbor came and tried to stamp the back door to get in. But, the fire came out. Before that, we heard the person, like she was running. You could hear that when she ran, it was like she fell, one hard hit. That was it."
The lead investigators, in this case, are still trying to piece together what happened. The actual cause of the blaze is not yet known.
Kenneth Mortis - Station Supervisor, National Fire Service
"To date, there are speculations about the cause, but there isn't anything concrete. We know that the fire started in the southwestern portion of the building, which would have represented the bedroom that Miss Camal was in. We found here, as rightfully mentioned, that she was in a face-down position. The right arm was under the bed, actually under the remains of the bed. Her back, which was exposed to the fire, was burnt, leaving her entire face that was shielded by the ground, unscathed by the fire."
The fire authorities also don't know yet what to make of Tessie Camal's inability to flee the burning house. They say that the room where her body was found was very close to the front door for a quick exit.
Kenneth Mortis
"It could well be an accidental fire. It could well be a malicious act. When we arrived on the scene, firefighters found the backdoor of the building opened. We know that the room she was in lies literally right across from the front door. So, had she been conscious, we believe that she could have made her way out of the building, out of her room, and literally straight across to the front door. How she managed to be found in that position is still undetermined. Whether or not she succumbed to her injury before the fire, will be determined based on the results of the post-mortem, and hopefully, we can move from there."
According to the neighbors, Bruce Garbutt, the homeowner and Camal's common-law husband, went into shock when learned that she died in the fire.
Voice of: Neighbor
"He was in shock. His first thing was, what happened here? Where is Tessie? He ran in the house looking for her. And he came to the fence, and he was like, 'J, where is Tessie?' I was like, 'I don't know how else to tell you, but Tessie's inside dead. She perished."
We spoke to the victim's family, who travelled from Corozal today for the post-mortem. They declined any interviews.
We note that shortly after learning of his common-law's death, Bruce Garbutt made a post on Facebook saying quote, "[I] still can't accept [that] you're gone… can't wait to be with you again in the other life." End quote.
