3 weeks after murder, no arrest
If the murder had occurred in Belize City or one of the major towns, it may have received more news coverage. But Gales Point Village is one of those quiet out-of-the-way places that–however beautiful–is easy to ignore. But last month a woman was murdered there, her body found floating in the lagoon, anchored to a concrete block. Usually when something this startling happens in a small Belizean village, within five minutes everybody knows who did it. Today, nearly three weeks after the crime, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods discovered that while the identity of Jovanna Poe’s killer is widely suspected, whoever committed the crime is probably still hanging out in Gales Point.
Dana Myers, Chair, Neighbourhood Watch Programme
“This village just di look fi get into tourist. Dah wah young village going into tourism, and now if these kinds of things start to happen, that wah chase people after they go on the internet and see what di happen dah fi we community here in Belize, this particular community, which is Gales Point. Tourists will not want to come here.”
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The murder of fifty-seven year old Jovanna Poe, a U.S. citizen, has shaken the tranquillity of Gales Point Village. Although the police and community strongly suspect it is someone living in the village that committed the crime, no one as yet has been arrested and charged.
Dana Myers
“Definitely it has to be someone living in the village and somebody too who know that person quite well and know exactly that the lady was leaving, what the lady had in her possession and things like that, because I understand that the lady was to go and pay for a property. So I believe that lady was robbed, perhaps raped and all of that, then murdered.”
Allan Andrewin, Coordinator, Neighbourhood Watch Programme
“I want some good investigation go out and look after the death of this woman, because it affects the whole community, not just we. As a neighbourhood watch just start out, this is one of our biggest case to solve. So with the help of the government and the policeman, I hope we solve this puzzle.”
It is believed Poe was killed in the house where she was staying and then her body dumped in the lagoon. It was clothed in a T-shirt and underwear and wrapped in two sheets. The feet were tied and anchored to an eight-inch cement block. Dr Mario Estradabran, who conducted the post-mortem, says he has been able to determine that Poe was killed either late on the night of February twenty-eighth or early the next morning.
Dr. Mario Estradabran, Pathologist
“What called my attention was the stomach. The stomach contents, its light vegetables, vegetables and fluid partially digested. So that meaning that the victim was killed late in the night or early in the morning.”
Estradabran may have been able to estimate the time of death, but it remains unclear how Poe was killed and where she was murdered. According to Estradabran, the examination is inconclusive because of delays, blunders, and miscommunication caused by authorities involved in the case. However, residents allege that because the doctor is acquainted with the prime suspect and his family he may have been influenced in his opinion.
Dr. Mario Estradabran
“They have been my private patients for many, many years. I would like to say for over ten years, I know the family and they are giving me the opportunity for being their family doctor. But this patient/physician relationship does not have no relation to the murder investigation. I give my expertise to the law to seek justice and normally go by evidence. If I do not find any evidence on the corpse or on the body, I cannot venture an opinion. So I had to find evidence to determine cause of death. If I cannot find any evidence to determine cause of death with the elements and tools that I have to do my post-mortem examination, then the final opinion has to be inconclusive or undetermined.”
The police would not go into specifics of the ongoing investigation, but told News 5 that they believe the Perez family, Poe’s landlords, may know what happened because they did not contact authorities until three days after they claim she was missing. News 5 has also been reliably informed that the police suspect the cement block used to anchor Poe’s body is similar to another block they found on Leon Perez’s veranda. Poe, a resident of Taos, New Mexico first came to the village in the late 1990s and sometime later she purchased a piece of land that people in the community say she wanted to keep as a wildlife sanctuary. Poe, who had a PhD in Anthropology, was a popular educator in her hometown and intended to use those skills in Belize. News 5 spoke to a friend and colleague of Poe, Judith Pepper, who said the loss of Jovanna is a loss to humanity. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
