Last night we told you about the murder in Belmopan where 45 year old Lionel Gillette also known as "Grey" was found dead at his home in the Rivera area of Belmopan. Reports are that Gillette was killed on Tuesday night and it's his sister who found his body yesterday afternoon. As we told you, a post mortem had to be conducted immediately because of the body's state of decomposition. Gillett was shot 3 times with a nine millimeter pistol and today the family told us that they have no idea who would want him dead. We traveled to Belmopan to get more answers. Courtney Weatherburne has the story:
Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Lionel Gillette lived here on his farmland for about 10 years. He enjoyed planting and taking care of his land and his labour paid off, with this lush and full mango tree alongside these flourishing coconut trees.
He lived a comfortable and modest life with his dog as his companion. But yesterday afternoon that life was shattered when Gillette's body was found outside his house.
His body was thrown here and his dried blood now stains the front steps. One of Gillett's friends who has been working on a fence near his home for the past 2 weeks told us that he had no idea that Gillett had been killed but that he did find it strange that Gillette didn't pass by yesterday morning as he usually does.
Voice of Friend
"For 2 weeks you would always see him pass this area, and he'd say 'Hello' every morning around 8 o'clock in the morning and around 8 o clock at night, he'd come home. We didn't hear anything, everyday 3-4 guys work here. Today in the morning we didn't see him going out, he didn't pass here."
And his family also found it odd that he didn't show up yesterday morning at his mother's house. Gillette was with his mother on Stann Creek Street on Tuesday night and had told her that he would pick her up the next morning at 9 to go the doctor in Orange Walk. But he never showed up. That's when his sister went to his house only to find Gillette's body splayed on the ground.
Voice of: Carolyn McKenzie, Sister
"They were worried because they haven't heard from him. He was supposed to pick her up at 9 in the morning to take her to Orange Walk and he never showed up, called, wasn't answering his phone, and so they got worried. My sister went to his farm to look for him and that's when she discovered his body on the steps."
Gillette was in his underwear when his sister found him with a shot to the head, stomach and back. The family believes that he was asleep that Tuesday night and someone he thought he knew came knocking at his door. When he came outside to greet the guest, he was shot. Apparently, the shooter then raided his house. The family believes it was a burglary but from the way Gillette was killed and his house ransacked, it just might be more.
Courtney Weatherburne
"We understand that his house was ransacked, do you guys think that maybe it was robbery or they wanted to steal money? Did he have a lot of money on him that time? Do you guys know anything about that?"
Carolyn McKenzie, Sister
"I don't know anything about money but it looks like a robbery to us. Hopefully we'll find out soon if that's what it was."
Courtney Weatherburne
"As you said before, he was well known, he had a lot of friends, a lot of acquaintances? What probably happened, do you know of any trouble or any problems he had with anybody in Belmopan or in Belize City? Was he involved in anything?"
Carolyn McKenzie, Sister
"Not that I know of and not that my family knows of. Never got into trouble with the law, maybe once for a minor crime so we're thinking it's just somebody that wanted to rob and ambushed him because that's what it looks like. They ambushed him. I don't want to think anything other than robbery but it's looking like something else. Whatever it is, I'm hoping the police will find out if it was because of something else, it wouldn't be nothing illegal with my brother because he has a lot of property and is a humble guy. We don't know, it might be, who knows."
There are more questions than answers at this point but the one certainty is that this family will forever live with an emptiness
Carolyn McKenzie, Sister
"When I visit my mom here in Belize, he would pick me up. He was my chauffeur, he was everything. He took care of my property, he had 3 kids so he was a loving father, brother. He was a very cool person, never got into trouble. my memory of him would be mostly when I come back home because he's the one that picks me up from the Airport, takes me everywhere, we go everywhere together on trips, vacations or whatever spots I go to in Belize he is there with me. He takes off from his job or whatever he has to do to make sure I have a good time here and he takes care of my property and so that's going to be like a void in my life."
He left 3 sons behind - one is only 5 months old. We will have an update on this murder tomorrow to find out if police have established a motive or if anyone was detained
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