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Murderous Machete Assault In Hopkins
posted (October 29, 2012)
Tonight a 36 year old women and her two young children are in the Southern Regional Hospital recovering from a savage machete attack. It happened in Hopkins on Saturday evening when a man went crazy on the family - and then killed another unrelated person with a deadly machete.

We found out more in Hopkins today:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
Hopkins, it's a sleepy seaside village and an emerging tourist hotspot, but on Saturday evening at ten past five - it became the scene for a cruel machete murder.

This is where 36 year old Olivia Coc and her 2 children, a girl aged 13 and a boy aged 5 were ambushed and viciously chopped….

Edwin Castillo, rendered assistance to child
"The little boy came out of the bushes and yelled out help! help!"

Jules Vasquez
"This is the little 5 year old boy?"

Edwin Castillo
"Yes the 5 year old boy yelled help. We slow down, we almost knock him down - we told him to get in the vehicle."

Jules Vasquez
"Was the 5 year old bleeding?"

Edwin Castillo
"He wasn't bleeding. We went through this little "picado" road shortcut. When we reach, the little boy sat in the vehicle and the man who got chopped up cried but his mouth was closed. He had a big cut over his mouth."

That man is Abelino Barnaby Garcia - who a worker at a nearby resort who had the misfortune fo walking through this picado as the same time the machete man was pursuing the child.

Sergeant Wilfredo Ferrufino, CIB Dangriga
"That is what we believe as well that he may have been at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Edwin Castillo
"He was chasing the little boy to chop him too because the little had a chop wound on his hand."

After being chopped the women ran towards the sea - and then came back out to the rood here where they waited for help with terrible injuries.

Edwin Castillo
"The little girl can't move her head; she was chopped in the head. The lady had a chop also."

Now police are looking for the culprit a dark skinned man who they believe is still in the village

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, now is it your belief that the culprit is still in Hopkins Village?"

Sergeant Wilfredo Ferrufino, CIB Dangriga
"Yes, he is somewhere in this vicinity and we are conducting investigations and hopefully we have the suspect sometime soon."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you have any idea of what may have been the motive? Was robbery involved? Was there some sort of fatal relationship ongoing?"

Sergeant Wilfredo Ferrufino, CIB Dangriga
"At this point we have not determined the motive. As far as any comments on that I cannot say at this point."

The father and husband were detained on the possibility that he may have somehow been involved. Police are not lending much credence to that theory and are still in the village looking for a dark skinned attacker who they believe acted alone.

Olivia Coc and her two children are in a stable condition. She has lost four of her fingers. They had gone fishing at the time of the attack.

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