Yesterday marked 3 years since 6 year-old Jose Garcia Jr. was killed in a hit-and-run accident at the intersection of King Street and Amara Avenue.
Police had a suspect detained briefly, but he wasn't charged, and his mother, who spoke to us today, said that since that arrest, police have not charged him or anyone in connection with Garcia's death.
Anacelia Castillo remains a grieving mother who can't let the memory of her son rest, because, according to her, she has received no justice for Garcia's death.
She went to the office of the DPP today, and she was told that her son's case had been dismissed.
She was in tears as she made a plea to members of the public to come forward with information to help police prosecute the man who killed her son.
Here's how she explained the grief she has had to endure from the loss of her son:
Anacelia Castillo, mother
"Yesterday make it three years that I lose my baby. The police or no one came to me, yesterday morning I called in on the KREM talk show and Ms. Sharon look up the case on the internet and she saw that there was a witness, a taxi man who saw everything that happens with Jose Garcia."
"I went to the DPP office this morning, the first thing that they told me is that they don't have any case file because they threw out the case. What is happening to Belize? This is chance, I am a poor mother. It is three years now that I lose my baby. Every day I get up and only see my two other kids. I am very hurt and it's not making any sense, three years my baby died and gone left me. "
"I have to come out and let everyone knows because I went to the DPP office and I didn't get any justice. The DPP was calling all over and explaining it to me. The child is a three year old; he is not twenty years old. Can someone please help me, come out and talk because a lot of people were on Amara when the baby got knock down. Come out because right now there is no justice in Belize."
When we called the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lynn Vidal, she told us that the crown counsel found that after the full investigation from the police, there was not enough evidence that could be used to successfully prosecute the case.
She said that in this particular case, the crown counsel did request that the police investigate further, but in the end, nothing more was presented.
Vidal did stress that the office of the DPP can't prosecute cases where there is not enough evidence.
In relation to Castillo's visit to the office today, Vidal said that new names were called, and these names now need to be furnished to the police, to see if any new evidence can be found.
The bottom line, though, is that Vidal wanted to dispel any notion that the police or her office did not work hard enough to gather the necessary evidence.
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