The holiday weekend was deadly: one man was shot to death in Belize City, while another was stabbed; and in Caledonia village a teenager was chopped to death.
We start in the city where an unidentified man was found dead on the river side in Lake Independence. He had been stabbed to death - but it didn't appear to be the usual type of city based violence - which usually involves guns, gang rivalries or old beefs. None of those seems to have applied here, so why was the mystery man killed.
Daniel Ortiz tried to find that out today:...
Daniel Ortiz reporting
The body of 25 year-old Dangriga resident Ezekiel Hernandez Medina was found on the riverside at the corner of Lavender and Partridge Streets yesterday morning just before 5:30. He was unknown in the area, and not even the police knew who he was.
It is believed that he had been killed earlier in the night because his body was already starting to decompose. The police found a tattoo on his arm, and with the help of the media, his family came looking to confirm that it was his body.
Margaret Cullerton - Sister of Deceased
"We heard a rumor saying that you need to go to Belize City it's an emergency about your "Duke," that's how we called him and I ask what happen and then we heard the news on the radio afterwards saying that they need to get somebody to identify Ezekiel and he has his name printed on his arm with an H. That's when it really registered that yes it's my brother."
Her brother had been stabbed 3 times to the upper right side of his back. Police have been investigating and so far 2 persons are detained. One of them has reportedly confessed. He reportedly told police that he did it because he caught Hernandez breaking into his vehicle.??Evidence at the scene also suggests that this could have been the series of events. Hernandez had a screw driver, and a plastic bag which had a knife and a flash light inside. Also, police found a blood trail from where Hernandez's body was found, which led back to a vehicle nearby.
Police are still cautious in suggesting a motive:
Sgt. Ismael Westby - NCO, CIB Precinct 2
"During the investigation so far that is one of the allegations that we are looking at. But like everything we have to actually investigate and confirm that such is true. We do not know the exact motive of him being here. Definitely what we can say that in that surrounding where his body was found we have had certain incidents of vehicle breakage. We cannot actually say that is the purpose that he have been here."
His family believes however, that if indeed their loved one was trying to commit a crime and was caught in the act by the owner, they didn't have to kill him.
Moreover, they say that Hernandez was in Belize City, to pick up money owed to him from unknown associates in the mechanic business who had supposedly been giving him a hard time for weeks.
Margaret Cullerton - Sister of Deceased
"That day last week he came to me to get money for passage to Belize City because he says that someone owes him and as soon as he comes he will give me back my money. I said okay and that was it. That was the last thing that he mentioned. He said that he was going to look for one of friends because they owed him some money. The last time he came back to Dangriga, he came with a big stitch to his forehead and I ask him what happen and he said they chance him because every time I come for my money they beats me. I told him to stop go to Belize City and he says that he already work for his money doing mechanic work. He said that he had nearly gotten hurt underneath a vehicle and now he says that he really wanted his money because he has his baby to take care of and he is not playing with them."
Daniel Ortiz
"This isn't meant to be offensive or anything like that, but the working theory at this time is that the person who supposedly confess is saying that he attacked your brother because your brother supposedly tried to break into his vehicle. Have you heard anything of that sort?"
Margaret Cullerton - Sister of Deceased
"That's the story I heard from the police, but it doesn't makes any sense because then if the guy said that he was trying to steal something from his vehicle, there are other ways to deal with things like that instead of taking somebody life and that guy according to what I heard is huge like 3 times his size and he (my brother) is not somebody that is always in a fight or anything like that. I think the person owed him or something and he was trying to get his money and maybe told him that he would take whatever from his vehicle maybe - but I think that person deserves to pay for what he did."
Hernandez was the father of a 3-month old baby.
Two men remain detained pending charges.
We note that Hernandez's family didn't have any photo of him here in Belize City because they are all from Dangriga.
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