He may be a grieving husband, but today Maynor Ancona was taken to court and charged for causing his wife's death.
46-year-old American Jennifer Lynn Griffith died from head injuries she sustained when she was stoned with a conch shell. Police say Ancona inadvertently hit her when he was trying to defend himself in a bar brawl on northern Ambergris Caye. Based on investigators' findings he was today charged for manslaughter by negligence and four other charges including disorderly conduct, harm and wounding
Today his attorney said that Ancona rejects the police account; he does not believe he caused his wife's fatal head injurIes:
OJ Elrington. Attornry for Ancona
"The allegation by the police is that there was a fight and that my client that they were coconut shells thrown and that one of those shells hit the deceased and she died subsequent to that. My client denies that that is the facts and what happened."
"So let's begin there, but of course, manslaughter by negligence is one of those offenses, which is not tried summarily, it has to be tried in the Supreme Court. And so no plea was taken for those charges."
Reporter
"What's the mindset right now of your client and for something like this to happen and he's been accused?"
OJ Elrington. Attornry for Ancona
"Well, he has been in police custody for about two plus days now. And when I initially met with him, of course, he is still grieving because he lost his common law wife and he, of course, just wanted to get out so that he'd be able to make the necessary preparations for her funeral or if they need to transport her body or whatever they're desirous of doing."
"So, of course, that is his primary concern right now. He was very concerned and still in the mourning process. Again, losing a loved one is never something easy. And especially under these circumstances where the authorities have charged him for the death and he feels unfairly so."
"It's obviously a very tough situation for him."
He pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct. There were no objections to bail being granted and he was offered bail of $10,000 dollars which he met.
