7 News Belize

Father of 8, Poet and Tour Guide Killed For No Known Reason
posted (December 5, 2016)
The city's other murder happened early on Saturday morning - on Hyde's Lane - one block away from the city's biggest police station on Queen Street. At about 3:45 AM, Dale Anthony Tillett Sr., known as "Blinds" was coming from buying some street food after a night out with friends. He was walking with two other men: one of them a relative, and the other a friend. That's when death came looking for them on a motorbike. Police told us more, as did his mother Geraldine Tillett:..

ASP. Alejandro Cowo, OC, CIB
"CIB personnel visited the corner of Hyde's Lane and New Road just 40 to 50 feet from the corner where the motionless body of Dale Anthony Tillet was seen lying face up with apparent gunshot wound to the back of his head. What the police gathered so far was that Dale Anthony Tillet was waking down on Hyde's Lane, corners North Front Street along with two other male persons when two persons on motorcycle came from Hyde's Lane corners North Front Street and as they approached them almost by the corner, one of the male persons on the motorcycle fires several shots at the persons that were walking along with Dale Tillet. As a result, Dale Tillet received the fatal injuries and the other person David Garcia received apparent gunshot wound to the left side of his shoulder."

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"One of my daughters called me about 4am and told me that Dale was dead and my first thought was that it was probably an asthma attack because he's asthmatic."

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"So you couldn't have imagined that he was gun down in the street?"

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"I couldn't believe it."

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"Why was your son killed?"

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"From what we understand, it was a case of if you can't catch Harry you catch his shirt. That's all I can put it down to."

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"So it's that they were after someone who was with him."

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"They were after someone who was with him and he ran. They just rode up behind him and shot him."

ASP. Alejandro Cowo, OC, CIB
"So far we have not been able to establish a motive as we know that Mr. Tillet was a tour guide and as far as we are concerned he does not affiliate with any of the gangs in Belize City."

Reporter
"So does that mean that he was not the intended target?"

ASP. Alejandro Cowo, OC, CIB
"Well at this time I cannot tell you if he was the intended target or not."

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"I am honestly of the opinion that that was the way he was supposed to die. My children might not have the same opinion, my relatives felt that he was, as you say, chanced out of his life. For me and my belief in God, I believe that was his fate."

And, Geraldine Tillett has resigned herself to fate after now losing her first born son, Dale Sr., and his first born son, Dale Jr - who was her grandson. Dale Jr was shot in a nightclub misunderstanding in December 2011, and died early in 2012. Now in December 2016, her son was killed for no known reason. As police mentioned, he was not gang affiliated; in fact, he was a working man: a tour guide by profession, a poet by passion, and the father of eight children, the oldest surviving is 19 years old, and the youngest is one year old. Today this mother spoke about the loss of a man who wanted nothing more than to change the world with his poetic words:...

Geraldine Tillett, Mother of Dale Tillett
"He loved poetry, I don't think he ever missed a spoken word because he was always speaking about intensifying the peace in the street. Jules all I can say is we need to stop this craziness, this foolishness of killing someone for absolutely no reason of retaliating, because someone killed a family member of yours then you go back and take revenge on that person. The cycle just continues, at what point are we going to say enough is enough? At what point are we going to say that? I don't want anyone to retaliate no matter how much they loved Dale, I don't want anyone to retaliate for Dale because God will take care of that."

Police have a number of suspects detained. The murder is believed to be the act of a gang in the area.

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