It's been a week since the triple murder in San Pedro that took the life of a toddler, and after the families buried their loved ones, they're now calling for justice and protection.
And while police have the two suspects behind bars, they're still working on collecting evidence to ensure they have an airtight case, especially since Christian Espat has presented an alibi.
The police will likely rely on witness testimony, and last week, one of those witnesses spoke to our colleagues at Ctv3, telling them everything he knew about what went down and why.
For self protection, he concealed his face behind a fisherman's mask. Courtney Menzies has this story.
The Rodriguez Family buried two of their own this past weekend - 3 year old Amari Rodriguez and her father, 25-year-old Delmar Rodriguez.
And only two days before that, Carlos Chi was also laid to rest by his family in the north.
And amidst the families' call for justice, one witness has spoken out. Lionel Cornejo, Chi's cousin and Rodriguez's friend, was on the golf cart that fatal night, and knows exactly who shot them.
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"I see the first male person emerge from the mangrove as we were turning the curve and the first person emerge from that mangrove, I know him because he didn't have any mask and he had a face buff like the one I'm wearing but he had it on his neck, he had his dreads and the man run straight up into the golf cart with a handgun in his hand, he ran straight up into the golf cart and point it at Delmar Rodriguez, his wife, and the baby and he squeezed. When he squeezed the gun, I couldn't even count it because it fired so rapidly, I think like twenty or more shots came out of that first one."
"The next gunman who is Christian Espat was coming behind him with another gun in his hand."
Reporter:
"Can you describe that gun?"
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"Honestly I can't really describe it."
Reporter:
"Was it a handgun?"
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"It wasn't a handgun because he came holding it with two hands."
"I can't lose him either, I can't lose his face, and they did it really facey because they did it bare faced so we could see who it is because they expected that all of us would be dead."
"When I start run, I start hear the fire shooting behind me after the rifle he had because the next boy, Michael Brown, he already ran out of bullets."
After he heard their getaway boat leave, Cornejo came out from his hiding spot to witness the carnage - his close friend lying dead on the street, his cousin bleeding out in a yard, and a little girl who was still just barely alive.
And he was left with a hard choice to make.
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"I rushed the little girl to the hospital, to the clinic, tried to rush her to the clinic so they could give her some assistance and I ended up leaving my cousin there and I hope the man could forgive me, but I know the man would understand my situation."
The little girl didn't survive, but Cornejo did, despite being shot to his side and his leg. He explained that he's in constant pain and he can't walk without the use of a cane.
But though he's still alive, he fears it won't be for long.
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"When it comes to my safety, that's the main reason I only spent 13 hours in the hospital because after I get a little checkup and thing, I notice some little funny movements, people coming in and out and I don't know if it's whether I'm traumatized or the nature of the person we are dealing with, Mr Christian Espat, so I had to try to fake that I am good so I could discharge myself from the hospital. I fear for my life, I fear for my kids' lives because I have two kids but they're innocent in whatever we're going through."
"Even if he's in jail, my life and my family, I'm still not safe, because if he decides one day to wake up form his bed in jail, from his bunk and he says, I don't want to spend anymore time in jail, we have to get rid of these witnesses, he could make that happen with one phone call."
"The police are in his pocket, is what I mean to say, and they will get angry for this because they know it's true."
And Cornejo knows this because he admitted that he had been friends with both suspects. Brown even lived with his family at one point, which is why he could recognize them so easily.
So how did Cornejo go from sharing his food to running for his life? He says it was because of drugs.
Lionel Cornejo, Shooting Victim
"I didn't find any drugs with those boys, they found their drugs when I wasn't around and I don't know how they split their drugs but I know this young man, Christian Espat, he is known for whenever you finds drugs, he always want more then you, he isn't satisfied if you get the same share and if he doesn't get the same share with you, he will make sure he gets the same share, one way or the other."
"Off the recent drugs they found, it was a lot, and money change people so this is something that recently started, months ago. Couple months maybe."
Despite this though, the Rodriguez family is calling for an in depth investigation as well as a meeting with the Police Minister. They are also asking for the survivors and their children to be put into witness protection.
The family's statement also alleges corruption within the police department. They said, quote, "we have gathered enough information about the accused killers, their affiliates and the level of capability, accessibility to illegal firearms, cash from drug proceeds and most importantly, their deep connections with rogue police officers on and off the island. The web of connections, masterminding capabilities to carry out executions is unbelievable. But we believe that there are still many lawmen and women who stand on the good side of the law. And that gives us some confidence and hope that we may one day see Justice for 3 year old Amarie Rodriguez and her dad Delmar Rodriguez, as well as Carlos Chi." End quote.
They are also asking that any one who is considering retaliation to put down the gun and let the justice system take its course.
