Corpse found in Stann Creek orchard

Police were up early this morning in the Stann Creek Valley, not picking oranges, but investigating a dead body found in an orchard. The corpse of an unidentified man was discovered around five a.m. at a farm off the Melinda Road. The body, believed to be that of a Hispanic male, was in the early stages of decomposition and displayed what appeared to be chop wounds to the right side of the face and neck. Police are appealing to the public for help in identifying the victim and hopefully the circumstances of his death. The body can be viewed at the Southern Regional Hospital where it awaits a post-mortem. Assuming that the wounds were not self-inflicted, the Stann Creek death constitutes murder number five for 2003.