In Belize the 10th of September is the The Battle of St. George's Caye Day, usually a day of good vibes and revelry, marked by dancing in the streets. But it's also World Suicide Prevention Day, a day to encourage depressed people to seek help and not take their lives.
But, that message did not get across to 26 year old Morgan Castillo - who took his life in a shocking and distressing encounter with police. I found out more today:
26-year-old Morgan Francisco Jr. took his own life yesterday after police caught him standing on the street side without a face mask.
It's a suicide that shocked his neighbourhood, an extreme reaction apparently triggered by the prospect of punishment for this particular SOE violation.
But Francisco's father, Morgan Francisco Sr. says that his son's depression and resulting paranoia went deeper.
Morgan Francisco Sr., Father of the deceased
"I wouldn't say mental health, depression, frustration, economic positions. What happened he broke up with his girl, he had love for the children the girl had and the kids weren't his but he had the love for them that he migrated from evergreen street to Gardenia with the girl. So he struggled, no job and he went and lived that bush life and tried to help provide for the kids same way but as always a woman has her children with her baby's dad and my poor son 26 years, just young has one son of his own and what happened he fell for the children, those children and the girl that he had."
The family says that Morgan Jr. died of heartbreak.
Morgan Francisco Sr., Father of the deceased
"The treatment the frustration, he called late in the night because of the frustration, the misunderstanding and he decided to come home so we tried to nurture him for the two weeks, because it's just about two weeks, my son started to look depressed I noticed he didn't eat his food and there were so many problems that he had. So, eventually yesterday the 10th of September 2020 he decided to take his own life after the police came and told me about the mask while I was discussing it with my neighbor. He was so paranoid that when the police came he thought that the police were coming for him. Instead he went for the mask."
"He took the knife and pushed it in his chest on the left hand side, and his mother went inside behind him and he still crouched down on the knife and pushing it in. So he came out with a lot of blood and he had the strength to walk even to the police vehicle because the police were insisting about the mask business and that triggered his demise."
And as he died, Fransico leaned onto that cop car bleeding out on the headlight.
Morgan Francisco Sr., Father of the deceased
"The police felt he had remorse, he felt that it was his presence and his duty, he was doing his job concerning that mask that triggered these actions."
His father says it's a violent vignette that will haunt him for the rest of his days.
Morgan Francisco Sr., Father of the deceased
"Forever will I be with that memory, of that sequence of events concerning that mask, forever will I be with that. I console myself, I console myself, the police was doing his duty yes but on a whole and this is what I have to say."
"The state of mind that we are present in usually varies and my son was at the peak at that state of mind that one strike of a pin triggered, triggered, as simple as that mask caused my son to not be here with me today."
Castillo was the father of one child.
