Man Chopped to Death in Franks Eddy Village

Santos Guerra Dominguez

A Salvadoran national was murdered in Frank’s Eddy Village, Cayo District in the early hours of Sunday morning. Santos Guerra Dominguez was reportedly in Belize visiting his son for the past month and was considering relocating from El Salvador.  But he met a cruel death, chopped to the face and head with a machete, after a night out in the village. Police say they have recovered the murder weapon, but at this time they have no known motive for the murder. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was in the village today and she tells us more about this latest homicide in the following story.

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

Fifty-two-year-old Santos Guerra Dominguez was reportedly in Belize for a month when he met a gruesome death in Franks Eddy Village sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Residents in the area report that they heard screams just before midnight on Saturday– and one person decided to check what was happening and saw a man chopping someone. She told her husband upon his arrival a few hours later and it was here in this road where he discovered Dominguez hacked to death; he was barely recognizable. Elvin Torres recounts the moments that led up to his discovery of the body:

Voice of: Elvin Torres, Neighbour

“She peeped outside and saw somebody chopping up something there so she thought, ‘ oh my God, that’s my dog! They are killing my dog out there!’ But when she realized, she put on the light and cut off the light and she noticed it was a man deh di chop outside ah the house. So she get to me and called me as soon as I reach home and I gone outside and gone check. It was a man chopped up very bad in his face. His bottom jawbone diced up in pieces and apparently, it looks like he got a chop wound around his neck, too. But about 11:30 she heard some screaming, but nuh only she heard it – all the neighbors around heard the screaming around eleven-thirty and eventually everything slowed down at the house they mi di socialize and apparently everybody gone sleep again.   It is not easy to see something like that. Something like that is something I nuh wish on anybody. It was horrible to see a human being do something like that to another person. It is horrible to know that we are living amongst monsters like those. It is horrible, especially in a lee area like this. But one of the biggest problems is that we nuh have the presence of police.”

Torres called the authorities around four on Sunday morning by that time Dominguez was dead. According to villagers, Dominguez was socializing at this house. They say that there was loud music and drinking – but an argument started. What is not entirely clear is the nature of that argument – some neighbors allege that alcohol fueled some hard talk about a woman – and shortly after Dominguez was attacked whilst still at the house. He reportedly left to go home but his killer followed and chopped him to death. Police share what they know so far about this murder.

Joseph Myvett

ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch

“Police initial investigation reveal that shortly after 1:30 a.m. on yesterday’s date, Mr. Dominguez was socializing in the village and thereafter left enroute to his home and was thereby attacked by a Hispanic male person who inflicted the said injuries. The scene was processed and the body was transported to the Western Regional Hospital.  The police do have a machete that was retrieved from the area.”

Dominguez’s son Miguel Guerra says he doesn’t know why his father was killed.  He says that his father was only visiting for about a month in Belize. Dominguez, a Salvadoran national, was thinking about relocating to Belize.

Miguel Guerra, Son of the Deceased [Translated]

“He was at a house when that happened. I found out until the following day.”

Andrea Polanco

“Those men – are they your dad’s friends?”

Miguel Guerra

“I don’t even know who did that to him. I am still not sure who did it.”

Miguel Guerra

Andrea Polanco

“And you don’t know what your dad was doing at that house?”

Miguel Guerra

“No. I don’t know either. I still don’t know. He was a good person. I don’t even know why they killed him.   He only recently came to Belize.”

Andrea Polanco

“As in how many months or years?”

Miguel Guerra

“He only came here to visit – maybe about a month.”

Andrea Polanco

“Only one month he’d been living here?”

Miguel Guerra

“Yes. He only came to visit me. He wanted to live here.”

Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.