For decades, the name Russell Hyde hung like a spectre over Western Belize – he was the most notorious figure in all of the West. The tales of his outlaw exploits were part of the lore of the Belmopan and Roaring Creek areas – and in May of this year, his outlaw narrative spun into headline news when Hyde was at the centre of a string of murders, starting with the sniper killing of his wife. After that, four, and possibly five men were killed. That is the panorama of violence that defined the world of Russell Hyde, whose ruthlessness and reach in the underworld were vast. Yet, on Friday night, when a gunman ambushed him at his home – Hyde had nowhere to run; he couldn't escape a determined killer who shot him four times with a shotgun and point blank range. It's a stunning and sudden end, for a man who dabbled in death, but had always dodged it. I spoke to his family yesterday in Belmopan:…

Courtney Weatherburne Reporting…

Alvin Hyde Sr. - Father of Russel Hyde

"The news that catch me so shocking and so often you know and just gone a next one."

This is where another one of the Hyde's will be buried.

Russel Hyde's body will be placed in this tomb right next to his younger sister Dorla who was killed about 2 weeks ago in Florida.

But right behind them in this burial site built in the back yard of the Hyde family farm in Camalote lays 5 more of their siblings – this site is a constant and bitter reminder of the death and violence that has devastated the family over the years.

And on Friday night those deep wounds were reopened when Russell Hyde was shot and killed at his home on the hill. Hyde along with his girlfriend Marcy Humes and another friend had just arrived at his house and made their way up the hill when they noticed flashlights shining in their direction from the bottom of the hill. Hyde and Humes tried to escape but 3 men emerged and shot them both. The other man escaped.

Hyde was shot multiple times in his face and body at close range.

Viewers may remember this house well – right in this yard Hyde's cousin Steven Hyde was found slaughtered in a shallow grave in late May.

And 24 hours before Steven's murder, Russell Hyde's friend Edilberto Madrid's decapitated and dismembered body was found floating in the Roaring Creek River. The story circulating is that Russel Hyde is linked to both murders.

And now that this notorious and feared figure has been executed – residents say that his murder was in retaliation for Madrid's gruesome killing.

Both murders stunned the community but more so Steven Hyde's mother. We visited her again to get a reaction from her. She gave us a very revealing remark.

Viola Spence - Mother of Steven Hyde

"When I hear about Russel; that they shot him, I just feel a relief in my heart. That's all. I didn't say anything; I sit down and started to cry, again. That's all."

Courtney Weatherburne

"Would you care to tell us why you feel that sense of relief?"

Viola Spence - Mother of Steven Hyde

"I just feel a relief, like a weight come off of me."

While that weight has been lifted from her shoulders, the burden now lies on the rest of the family – Russell's mother, father, brothers and children.

Although Russel Hyde has an infamous street reputation, his father can only remember what a diligent and shrewd business man he was.

Alvin Hyde Sr. - Father of Russel Hyde

"Russel is a very hard working person. Sometimes I tell him that he need to rest. He liked to work, build houses and he worked all the time; he had about two house he mi d try finish."

But we might never know the true story or face of Russell Hyde. Viewers only get snippets of what may be his life through the media, through these horrific murders, through the gasps heard when his name is mentioned and then there is the story from his family which according to his father is too long and too rooted to explain.

But all these snippets and snapshots of his life still don't bring the police any closer to solving these crimes or the community.

The other murder we did not thoroughly revisit in the story is the murder of Russell Hyde's wife 44 year old Rosalie Galvez. She was shot and killed in front of Hyde and their kids on May 18 ^th of this year at the Guanacaste junction. We spoke with members of the Galvez family yesterday and they told us that they have dispelled the speculation that Hyde had anything to do with Rosalie's murder.

The father Alvin Hyde and his wife only have 6 remaining kids out of 13.