Com. of Inquiry asks why victims left to die

Four witnesses testified today before the Commission of Inquiry established to investigate the shooting death of three Guatemalans near the border in Toledo last year. The first witness to take the stand today was Assistant Inspector of Police and Officer in Charge of Toledo, Cardinal Smith. Smith gave his account of the day in question in a statement to the police, which was read back to him. Upon cross-examination by Commission Chairman Herbert Lord, Smith admitted that he was the investigating officer sent out from Punta Gorda after the incident, yet he didn’t secure the area where the shooting occurred. Neither did he recover or photograph the dead bodies. Member of the commission, Maria Gamero, told Smith that while he knew all that’s involved in investigating a murder, he didn’t follow the standard procedure in this case. Lord’s cross examination of a BDF private who was part of the fatal patrol had to do with why the three men were killed and then left to die. Lord asked the soldier why didn’t the platoon retreat before firing the shots. He responded by saying, “It was too late.” And that he felt the machete-toting assailants would have killed them. The inquiry resumes tomorrow in Belize City Magistrate’s Court.