On Monday, we told you that one of police's main suspects, 24 year-old Guatemalan Victor Manuel Franco Menjivar was set free. He was one of the persons that Benque police were investigating for the murder of American tourist Anne Swaney.
He had been found in the same general area as Swaney's body, and he was supposed to be spending 6 months in prison after pleading guilty to illegal entry. Now, Magistrates usually order accused illegal immigrants to pay their fine forthwith, or else they will be jailed. What usually happens is that the Immigration Department allows these defendants a small amount of time to pay and if they can, then they are released.
Victor Menjivar did just that, and he was then taken to the Western Border and then released into Guatemala. Today, we asked the Acting Commander of the Western Police Region if that substantially hurt their ability to investigate this crime, and here's what he had to say:
Supt. Andrew Ramirez - OC, San Ignacio
"The investigation basically is a challenging investigation. UP to this present moment the investigation continues. As any other murder investigation we are trying our utmost best to try resolve this matter here. We do not really have any more that you guys already have as part of the investigation. But it is indeed a very challenging case due to its remoteness and isolation."
Mike Rudon, Ch5
"Now the release of the Guatemalan national. What that normal? What that what police would have wanted in this case?"
Supt. Andrew Ramirez - OC, San Ignacio
"In the initial detention of that individual, he was detained pending the investigation of that murder. But we must be guided that the police has a certain number of hours that we can hold somebody for investigation purposes which would be 48 hours. The person has exceeded his 48 hours and as a result he was handed over to Immigration for immigration offence. Regrettably that was the situation with that Guatemalan individual."
Anne Swaney, a journalist from ABC 7 in Chicago was vacationing in Belize at the Nabitunich Resort, just outside of Benque Viejo Town. She went missing on January 14, and was found dead in the Mopan River the next day. She had been strangled to death.
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