Belize City woman brutally murdered while exiting home
The latest and most vicious homicide occurred this morning in murder capital, Belize City and according to our records it is the twenty-sixth murder since the beginning of this year. Twenty seven year old Lacey Rosales, originally from Sand Hill, returned to Belize from the United States only a few months ago and was not known to have any enemies. Rosales, who shared an apartment with her partner on Neal Pen Road, was brutally stabbed six times when she exited the building at about five o’clock. The housemate said she heard the screams but did not believe it was Lacey but after she looked outside she saw Lacey’s parked car. When she walked out she found Lacey suffering from the stab wounds by their neighbor’s apartment. The motive for her murder remains undetermined. According to her sister, Helen Rosales, Lacey was up early to take their mother to seek medical treatment in Dangriga.
Helen Rosales, Sister of Murder Victim
“Lacey is originally from Sandhill Village; she was born and raised and grown there. She has worked at Advanced Advertising for all her work life. In fact, I think her first job was there for well over ten years and she left maybe two years ago. She was in the states last year. She came home in December and that’s when she came to Belize City to live with her friend on Pen Road. She has been living there since December. What happened this morning, I wouldn’t know because all I know I received a phone call at five-eighteen this morning telling me that my sister was injured and I need to go to the hospital. Prior to that four-fifty-five this morning she had text mama to say I’m on my way to pick you up because she was taking my mother to Dangriga where she receives her chemotherapy on a weekly basis. However, when I came out of my room and I saw my mother up already I asked her what she was doing up so early. She said “Lacey text me to say she was on her way to pick me up. That was when I said to her I said Lacey ain’t coming we need to go to the hospital right now. When I reached her I met her friend and her other friends and they were—she had been brutally stabbed. Doctors were trying all they could. She went into surgery and she didn’t come out successfully.”
Jose Sanchez
“Let’s go back. You said she was up after five. Is that something she regularly does, get up early? Or was this the only for this instance?”
Helen Rosales
“Well, Lacey is a very athletic person and I think all of Belize City who knows Lacey knows she’s either playing basketball, volleyball or football. She would normally take a walk, do her regular exercise routine. But that wasn’t her reason for getting so early this morning. As I mentioned before, she was on her way to take my mom to Dangriga where she receives her chemo and she was brutally attacked right in her own car park.”
Jose Sanchez
“Anybody hear anything?”
Helen Rosales
“Well, I guess neighbors heard screaming. I can’t say who heard but of course there were screaming, dogs were barking. I guess it was after a while that she got some help, the police came, they quickly took her to the hospital. But it was a little too late.”
Jose Sanchez
“She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would have had enemies. Do you think its robbery or something random?”
Helen Rosales
“At this point Jose, I will tell you that I don’t think you need to have an enemy now in Belize for somebody to attack you like that. Too many innocent people have been slain like animals. You understand? My sister is one of the most pleasant persons anybody can meet. Whenever she enters a room, she leaves a ray of light. She is joy, she is a true gem. Why would anybody want to hurt such a pleasant, successful, thriving young Belizean woman; rural woman to add more. Why would anyone want to hurt her? I don’t have the answer. I don’t have the answers but I’m pleading to the authorities, the politicians for and foremost. The time has come. They need to stop all these press conferences and seminars and get to the notch and get the ball going. How long will we live in a society like this? Today it’s me. Tomorrow it might be you.”
No arrests have been made in this latest vicious murder. In the period of January first to March seventeen of 2008, there were twenty one reported cases of murder. But from January first to March seventeenth of this year there were five additional slayings, totaling twenty-six murders. That’s an alarming increase of twenty-three point eight percent over the same time period just a year ago.
