Police today charged the mentally ill man who sliced a 14 year old student's face open for no known reason. We've been reporting on the case of student Khadijah Cruz - the Hattieville Village who was on her way to school on Monday, Sept. 26, at about 7:00 a.m.when a man came out of nowhere, slashed her across the cheek and ran off. The gash required 13 stitches.
After much public complaint by her father and grandmother - police have finally arrested and charged a mentally ill man for the crime. He is Daniel Burke, an apparently mentally ill man. The 29 year old was arraigned today on a single charge of wounding.
In court Burke said, "I don't remember what happened," and was otherwise unresponsive. The Magistrate ordered that a psychiatric evaluation be performed on him before the matter could proceed any further.
With that, no plea could be taken and he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until November 10, 2022. In the interim, a psychiatrist will make an assessment to determine if he is capable of understanding the court proceedings before his case can continue.
