Mile 8 is scene of week’s 4th murder
Like the northside Belize City neighbourhood of Belama, the new bedroom community at mile eight on the Western Highway is known as a quiet suburb with a strong sense of cooperative spirit. But tonight mile eight joins Belama in another similarity, that is as the scene of a murder. That’s right, for the fourth time in as many days the police blotter opens with a homicide. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods has details.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The body of eighteen year old Enrique Trapp, better known as ?Lee Burn?, was found lying faced up in his own pool of blood. The corpse lay by an open doorway inside this unfinished concrete bungalow situated in the mile eight community on the Western Highway. It?s not certain exactly when the murder occurred, but reports are that area residents heard two gun shots around eleven on Wednesday night. Trapp was shot twice in the head.
Rose Almendarez says she last saw her son around ten last night when she went into his room to open the window so he could get some breeze. It was sometime after that, that an unidentified young man reportedly went to the house and called for Trapp.
Rose Almendarez, Mother
?He get up and he ask dem dah what and it look like dem call ah downstairs and when he get downstairs he come up back and then he get his bike and gaan.?
Jacqueline Woods
?So he must have known this person??
Rose Almendarez
?Yes, he must have him.?
Because a lighter was found in Trapp?s hand, it is believed he was lured away by someone he knew, who may have suggested that they go to the building under construction and smoke weed. The family strongly suspects Trapp was either set up or killed by someone he knew. According to Almendarez, since the community?s first murder in May, her son repeatedly received threats from individuals who believe he was involved in the stabbing death of Jason Encalada.
Rose Almendarez
?They stay the send threats to them bout how they wah get to dem like how they get fi dem partner. But he nuh inna nothing and he no time well he say ma I nuh inna nothing so I nuh scared ah nothing cause I nuh do nobody nothing.?
Officer in charge of the Hattieville police station, Christopher Noble, says at this time they have no motive for the killing.
Christopher Noble ? O.C. Hattieville Police Station
Enrique Trapp is a resident of eight miles. He?s been there for sometime now. He is not to my knowledge since knowing him, a problem person so to speak, but may have been involved in mischief in the area that we do not know about. We can?t say that for sure.
Jacqueline Woods
?The murder is the second to occur in the past six weeks. Hattieville police are very concern about what is happening in this small residential community and authorities are working with the mile eight residents to combat crime in the area.?
Christopher Noble
We have recently put a police booth there. We are doing our best to upgrade that and that is being done with the assistance of the mile eight community. We?re looking into possibly getting supervisions for the officers down there and that should be something put on streamed pretty shortly. We have foot patrols; I know that vehicle patrols does go down to mile eight. I make frequent checks in that area, but we can?t be everywhere every time.?
Today, the police are calling on area residents or anyone who can help them solve this latest murder to please call the crime stopper hotline number at 922.
Christopher Noble
?There may have been persons that heard something, we are begging that they come forward because it is the only way that we will be able to close or to give closure to the family at least as to what transpired.?
The first time the community and police met was last November. At that time the only crimes occurring in the neighbourhood were vandalism and burglary. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News Five
According to our unofficial statistics, the killing of Enrique Trapp is the thirty-eighth murder to occur in 2004.
