7 News Belize

Killed After "Sunday Dinner"
posted (November 26, 2012)
By mid morning on Sunday when news of the Ladyville triple murder had gone out - and added to the trauma of two Friday murders - it seemed almost like a statistical impossibility for there to be yet another murder.

Yet there was. It happened on Sunday near the Complex building - in one of those crime-ridden areas that is usually swarming with police.

But that didn't matter to the killers - who may have gone after the wrong man. 7news was on the scene:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
On Sunday - right after Sunday dinner, a crowd of onlookers thronged the corner of Mahogany and Complex Streets to witness the spectacle of death.

Their neighbor 22 year old WILLIAM FELIX FRANCIS had been killed inside his family's home:

Raphael Martinez - Police Press Officer
"Police visited #118 Mahogany Street Extension in Belize City where they saw 22 years old William Felix Francis of the same address lying inside his house with what appeared to be multiple gunshots wounds."

"Initial investigations revealed that at approximately 1pm there about Francis was inside his house talking to his brother when a dark complexion male person dress in black entered the house pointing a pistol at them and asking for somebody. Upon seeing this William's brother ran and jump through a window leaving William Felix behind. Shortly thereafter several gunshots were reportedly heard from inside the house. The brother reportedly return and found Williams Felix Francis lying on the floor injured."

"8 expended shells, 1 slug and particles were retrieved from the scene."

His family says he was only visiting:

Voice of: Sister of Deceased
"Currently he wasn't residing here in Belize. He just came to visit his other brother and my bigger sister. That is when this happened. Everyone around this area knew my brother. He was an ex-BDF volunteer for many years. He recently did training for special constable in San Pedro which he was certified also, that right there shows that he was not a trouble person to the way he met his death here."

Jules Vasquez
"Is that something that concern you all; people will say that it's just gang business."

Voice of: Sister of Deceased
"It could never be gang related. It could say that any day; on anyone of my loved ones grave that it's not gang related because my brother is not involve in red or blue. He is just here to visit because it was 19th November holiday - we are all Garifuna - he came to celebrate and he was going back out to the cayes. Unfortunately he got caught up into this and this is what happened."

"He was living out in the cayes with his aunt who is a police officer, so he was living in a police barracks."

But from a barracks to the back of a police truck being carried away in a body-bag, his sister escorting him for this last trip - it is difficult for the family to come to terms with:

Voice of: Sister of Deceased
"He never had a child, he only had two nieces and he loved them dearly, he will also be missed by his nieces. Right now we can't even explain to them what happen to their uncle. We are just telling them that he is in the hospital sick. One of them is 6 years old, she has good understanding - she say that she wants to go and visit her uncle in the hospital. Exam also started today, so we can't throw her off track, so we are trying to tell her that he is okay. We don't know how to explain to her that her uncle died and he was murdered so cruelly."

"From what I understood they say my brother took 6 shots. I also understood that the shots weren't meant for him. They came looking for a different zinc fence and they came to ours - the first zinc fence - that is what I understood. We don't know how we will get through the burial and all the different stuff. We are just trying to be strong for his sake and just try to stay together."

Police say they do have a single male suspect.

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