It was another deadly weekend in Belize - with three more murders recorded - bringing the total for the year so far to 59, an alarming 44% increase from last year.
And this weekend's killings result from varied acts of violence - one was domestic, one gang related, the other targeted a senior citizen.
We start with the domestic incident - which ended in a fatal stabbing in Blackman Eddy. It leaves a family with more questions than answers, as to how their youngest sibling's life was taken away. Jomarie Lanza headed West today and here's what she found out:
His family says that he was in an abusive relationship, and his tragic death is a testament to the toxicity between him and his partner. 37 year old Paul Arthurs, a resident of Ontario village, left his home on Saturday night en route to a birthday party in Blackman Eddy, where his common law wife was socializing. No one knows for sure what transpired at the function, or who and why would anyone want to harm Arthurs. All the family knows is that he was stabbed to death in the company of someone he trusted.
Voice of: Relative
"The last time I saw him was around Friday earlier in the day he left home. I live nearby not necessarily in the family yard, but I live nearby he left home to go up to Blackman area."
Reporter
"That's where his girlfriend lives?"
Voice of: Relative
"That's where his girlfriend lives just to clarify it is his girlfriend they've been in a relationship before and they live together at a different home closer by to the family home in Ontario and since then they have left that home and they have been living separate but still in a relationship."
"He ended up at the family yard and something did not go well we don't know why an argument occurred and to our understanding another male that she has been in a relationship as well was around so we don't know if because he came by they were trying to chase him or something to that extent and then he is the type of person to walk away but he is also if you are fighting or you pull a gun or weapon at him h is also going to try to defend himself and so a fight probably broke out and that's when they ganged up on him because how you as a female and would claim that somebody you are not with is going to go to your house where you have an army of brothers and say "I'm going to take you to the river and drown you"."
Jo
"So these claims that he threatened to drown this girl."
Voice of: Relative
"Yes the claims are saying that he threatened to drown her when the river is very far from the home and there was no way he could have gotten access to her if she didn't want to be with him that night."
Several videos circulating in the media capture a wounded Arthurs bleeding from his Torso laid out on the grass in this bushy area. How did he end up in another yard away from the function leaves the family to wonder whether he was taken advantage of or not.
Jo
"Was this relationship abusive?"
Voice of: Relative
"To our understanding no. When she is here the family would welcome her to the home, she could do everything cook wash and stay with him and nobody you know gets into their relationship nothing abusive from our understanding no reports of any abuse happening, well him being abusive to her."
Jo
"But was she Abusive to him?"
Voice of: Relative
"To him from our understanding also because we heard from other people that she indeed sometimes would step out of the relationship on him and I know that it has caused or triggered some disputes you know like an argument or something to that extent. There was one time that I can't account he came home and he told us he fell off a bike, a bicycle a small bicycle and we wouldn't believe that you could fall off a small bicycle and hurt your arm. And a few days later his nephew that Tisha hit him on his hand with a bat. And his sisters paid for medical attention for him, private medical attention and that was how he got his shoulder to go back in place and stuff like that."
A police report suggests that Arthurs had threatened to harm his significant other, but the family is of the view that their relative would never do such a thing, and police intervention could have prevented all of this from happening
Voice of: Relative
"Like I said he was someone that kept to himself I'm not saying he is perfect you know like I said if somebody want do him something especially like how he had problem with that family he would defend himself you know so that is the only thing I can really say about him. He and this girl have been in a back and forth but he did not deserve to be murdered like that. I believe that the police could have stepped in if they didn't want him there and it didn't have to come to this and that is the only reason the family is calling for justice because it was very uncalled for it didn't have to happen."
Arthurs leaves behind one child.
