A decomposed body was found floating in the Belize River on Saturday morning. The man - identified as 51 year old Salvadoran Jorge Aguirre worked as a care taker on Carl McCulloch's farm in May Pen Village off the northern highway. But early Saturday morning a neighbor along with another villager found his foot floating in the river. Shortly after, the rest of his body came floating down as well. Based on the post mortem examination Aguirre was killed late Wednesday evening, dumped in the river and floated unto the river bank on Saturday. Police also found a trail of blood from the farm leading to the river indicating that he was dragged to the river. Aguirre's murder has shocked this small and quiet community because they say nothing like this has ever happened there. We spoke to the neighbor who saw his friend's body parts floating by his house.
Voice of: Neighbor
"I stand up by my door, because the river is ring in front of me and we saw something drifting down. So my daughter said to me that it looked like something die. Not knowing it was the man's leg. A guy who live below me call and said that he found a man's leg floating."
Courtney Weatherburne
"So you went down to see the guy's leg?"
Voice of: Neighbor
"They guy who lives here went down and drag it in the boat, then while dragging it passes my land I saw that it was a man's leg. The guy who lives above me came and say that they found Jorge. They killed him and threw him in the water."
Courtney Weatherburne
"Now, you are saying that they killed him right here in the yard?"
Voice of: Neighbor
"That is what I got to understand when I came here Saturday morning."
Courtney Weatherburne
"They threw him in the river and that is how he floated over to you."
Voice of: Neighbor
"Correct. That's the way I know. Since he came and live in the area, whenever he goes he had to pass my house. But most of the time I am out too, because I do surveying job, with a surveyor. So most of the time I am out like two weeks and then come in. But everything he meets me here, he would stop, but he use to speak only Spanish most of the time. Until afterwards he started to "catch and kill." The man was nice. He never had any problems with anyone back here as far as I know. So I was wondering why they did it to him or who did it to him."
Courtney Weatherburne
"Do you think it's someone from the village who just wanted to rob or steal the sheep?"
Voice of: Neighbor
"I don't have any comments to pass on that lady. I really can't say who it could be."
But the police have an idea of who may have done it. We spoke to Ladyville police and they told us what they know so far.
Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Commander - Eastern Division Rural
"On Saturday morning we received information of the dead male person in the Belize River, where our officers visited the scene and found the lifeless body of Jorge Edwardo Agurrie, 51 years old Salvadoran national who is the caretaker of Carl McCulloch's farm. The body was found three quarter miles down the stream from the farm that he actually works, where there were several chop wounds observed to his foot, hands, neck and head. The investigation has thus far revealed that after an inventory of the sheep taken at the farm, there were 14 sheeps missing from that farm and we believe that Mr. Agurrie may have stumbled on the persons who were stealing the sheeps. We have a person of interest who had threaten Mr. Agurrie in the past and we are looking for that individual."
Aguirre's body was found with chop wounds to the neck, foot, hands and head. As you heard, police believe that the theft of sheep was the motive. According to one of the caretakers on the farm Mcolloch had over 56 head of sheep and 14 were stolen. As you hear in the interview, police are searching for a person of interest who had threatened Aguirre before. Aguirre is from Carmelita Village, OW.
Email
Print