And in the third murder in Belize Rural this weekend, Scotland Halfmoon villagers came across a burnt body just off the main road on Saturday morning. For a tiny village that hasn't seen a murder in years, it's a most unusual discovery - but police believe that it didn't happen in the village - but that the body was burnt elsewhere and then thrown off the road, right at the entrance to the village.
Police say that his body was badly burnt, beyond recognition, and they suspect that the killers may have been trying to destroy evidence. So, they are treating this case as a murder investigation.
Now, police do have a name of a missing mechanic from Ladyville- and believe it may be him, but because it has not been absolutely confirmed, we are unable to release it at this time.
Here's what police told us today:
Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster - Commander, Eastern Division Rural
"Saturday July 18th, we were called out at about 10:43am to an area 400 feet passed the Bermudian Landing Bridge where we discovered charred remains of a person believe to be a male person. At this point investigations are continuing with that. We have initial indication this person was partially identified by a tattoo on his chest by the mother, but we are going to wait for the confirmation from the doctor."
Supt. Hilberto Romero - OC CIB Eastern Division
"The body was removed and taken to the morgue. A post mortem examination will be conducted tomorrow. The body had been burnt and so the doctor will be the one to determine if he had any sort of injuries at this time. We believe the body was thrown there and it was burnt somewhere else."
Daniel Ortiz
"Based on your expertise as investigators, that the body was burnt to conceal evidence?"
Supt. Hilberto Romero
"We are not sure why it was burnt. The doctor will do his post mortem and give us his findings and then we can carry the investigation further."
This morning, we spoke to the common-law wife of the man believed to be the victim whose remains are now at the morgue. She told us that she has had an opportunity to view it, and she doesn't believe that it is her spouse. She told us that her husband is still missing, and she is actively searching for him. That's the opposite of what police told the media today. As you heard in the interview, they say that the missing man's mother has partially identified him as the badly burnt victim, based on a tattoo which she observed on the burnt body's chest. We'll keep following the story and update you accordingly.
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