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A community is left with questions after a local passed away from mysterious injuries only days after being admitted to the Northern Regional Hospital. Today Jomarie Lanza headed north to the quiet vicinity of Guinea Grass village to uncover what she could about the death of a resident known as a harmless vagrant.
As you approach the steps to the gazebo here in Guinea grass village park, one may notice the large collection of scattered belongings and cardboard boxes. This was 66 year old Claudio Quetzal's home, and where he spent his last few hours before he was carted off to the Northern regional hospital with injuries on Monday, only to succumb a few days later. Though no one knows what may have transpired leading up to his death, his niece says that everyone in the village was familiar with him, and he mostly kept to himself.
Voice of Rosie Elias, Neice or deceased
"Well everybody here on Guinea grass knew my uncle as somebody that roams the street like. Well he decided to start using drugs from a young age and well he wasn't bad to the community I can say that because Everybody knows him from people who were growing up everyone knows him even the kids, anytime they saw him on the street they were like "Kaps"! And you know he would mingle with people and yeah."
"It was Sunday night because usually everyday he use to stay by the park by Guinea grass park and every day he just gets up and the neighbors see that he gets up and you know goes about his day but then Sunday they didn't see him that he had gotten up like usual so they went to check on him and he was lying on the floor and like from that time they went to see him he hadn't recovered from being unconscious till today well he paws away last night but from when they found him there he never did say a word again to nobody so we don't really know what happened."
Reporter:
"Was he sick?"
Voice of Rosie Elias, Neice or deceased
"Not that we know only drug use"
"I didn't see him but they say that he had an injury beside his eye. I think his left eye but his body didn't have any injuries so we don't know exactly what happened."
There is speculation that someone may have harmed Quetzal, or "Kaps" as most knew him in the village, but from a neighbors account who lives in the area, she thinks that it is possibly due to the injuries he displayed that morning.
Donna Hernandez, Neighbor
"I see him Saturday that gone I saw him. I saw him and no more and from the next day like Sunday I saw him on the ground struggling with his own spit he was struggling."
"He was dying his head was burst his head was full of blood on this side only that I saw all the neighbor saw it too not only me all the neighbors saw it."
Reporter:
"Do you think he fell down?"
Donna Hernandez, Neighbor
"I don't think he fall down when I saw him his head had a burst."
Reporter:
"Do you think someone hurt him?"
Donna Hernandez, Neighbor
"I think someone hurt him yes but he no mess with anyone here form Guinea grass he doesn't mess with anyone he is a easy person. Sometimes he takes off his shirt and goes to bathe at the river and changes right there only that."
Qetzal passed away last night at around 10:00 - after being hospitalized on Monday.
A post mortem examination will determine the cause of death.
