Armenia Woman Dead: Husband and Three Women Questioned

Jessica Choc

A mother of three children died over the weekend. And tonight details continue to emerge about the circumstances surrounding her sudden death and her husband and three women are in police custody tonight. Today News Five travelled to outskirts of Belmopan to find out more about the last hours of Jessica Choc’s life.

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

The death of twenty-three-year-old Jessica Itch Choc has left her family searching for clues. But what we know tonight is that the mother of three is dead less than twenty fours after she was beaten up by her relatives. Today, with tears in her eyes, Epifania Itch remembered her daughter as always being happy.

Epifania Itch, Mother of the Deceased

“My daughter was a loving person. She neva hate. No time you see her vex. She was always happy with her kids and with her husband.”

Here’s what we know about the last twenty four hours before Jessica Choc died. On Friday night she was at this yard in Armenia Village along with her husband Alberto Choc, his two sisters and another couple. But before mid-night a fight started between the couple. The family alleges that Alberto Choc may have been in a romantically involved with the woman and he reportedly tried to break up that fight but that’s when the man turned on him. Jessica Coc reportedly tried to defend her husband. Yesenia Coc witnessed that fight. Yesenia Coc is married to Alberto Coc’s brother. She alleges that Jessica Coc was never physically beaten by her husband; instead she says it was the two sisters-in-law, as well as by the other woman at the yard who attacked Jessica. This video captured on cell-phone reveal an argument in Mopan Maya, allegedly between Jessica and the women That fight left Jessica Coc injured.

Yesenia Coc, Sister-in-law of Deceased/Eyewitness

“The sister, Ms Maria Choc of the husband for Jessica, she came and told Jessica: “Jessica, you are the one I have been waiting for. I want you. I need you.” And then she went on top of Jessica and tried to slap her.”

Andrea Polanco

“So, she basically told her that she is waiting to fight with her?”

Yesenia Coc

Yesenia Coc

“Yeah that is what she said. Jessica didn’t like when she get slapped so she grabbed Maria by her blouse and she was pulling by the hair. The other sister Alberta Choc both of them went on top of Jessica and tried to fight with her pulling her hair and stuff like that. The husband of the deceased person went between them and yes he was drinking but he wasn’t drunk to say he was lost. He came and held Jessica and tried to separate them. But the other women they didn’t want the husband to help the wife and so Alberta came and grabbed Jessica and slammed her on the floor.  Both women they went on top of Jessica and I only see that Alberta Choc went and kneel on top of Jessica and choked here and slammed her head on the floor.”

Andrea Polanco

“Did her husband beat her any at all during the process?”

Yesenia Coc

“Her husband didn’t do her anything but I guess she thought it was her husband who hit her but it wasn’t her husband but her husband yes did grab her by her shoulder and try to separate from the other women – his sisters and also the sweetheart was in it as well.”

Andrea Polanco

“You are not protecting him?”

Yesenia Coc

“No, I am not protecting him. I told my husband if he does something he has to pay for what he does but if he didn’t do anything only tried to separate his wife from his sisters so he doesn’t deserve to go and pay for what he didn’t do.”

Andrea Polanco

“Did those two women used to have fights with Jessica; argue?”

Yesenia Coc

“I guess maybe they argues because Jessica usually told me that when she passed them, along the sweetheart as well they throw phrases and tried to attack her. But Jessica she just ignored them she didn’t want to get into trouble.”

Andrea Polanco

“Did you see Jessica with any large injuries; any bruises; anything at all?”

Yesenia Coc

“Well, in the morning, she wake up and I only saw her mouth a little swell and some scratches on her neck and she told me that her stomach was hurting her and her back.”

And it was that Saturday morning that Jessica Coc visited her mother’s house on Florida Street in Las Flores. There she told her mother that her husband and her in-laws had beaten her. She reported that incident to police and then reportedly went to the hospital for medical attention. But by ten thirty that night she was dead.

Epifania Itch

Epifania Itch

“Like around ten o’clock she started to move around the house and then she came to me and gave me her phone and said this phone dah fi me. And then after that she told me mek I mind her kids and only that she told me and then she gone back and lay down on the hammock. Then like twenty-five to thirty minutes she called me, “Ma, ma” and then she waved her hand I gone see and she tek three breaths and she passed away.”

Reporter

“Do you think the injuries she sustained were the cause of her death?”

Epifania Itch

“I don’t know. I the await the port-mortem. I can’t say it is that I don’t know what happened. I will wait for the port-mortem.”

Andrea Polanco

“Did she indicate to you that she was sad; depressed; that she would do something to harm herself?”

Epifania Itch

“Hmm I don’t know. She didn’t tell me that. She only told me that she feel sad. Only that.”

Andrea Polanco

“And you don’t think she would hurt herself; kill herself?”

Epifania Itch

“No. No. She can’t kill herself. She nuh do that.”

But today the family revealed that Jessica Choc, for the most part, lived a happy life with her husband. They have been together for eight years and there was no report of abuse. But Jessica also had health complications and so says they want to wait for the results of the post-Mortem to find out exactly what caused her death.

Epifania Itch

“They lived happy before. When he start to have a sweetheart but he neva abuse my daughter from that time until when they end up in this fight but dah nuh the husband.  She had lungs problem and heart problem like she wah ketch heart attack or something – that was after she had last baby. Her husband mi know and she told her husband what the problem she had.”

Andrea Polanco

“Do you think that fight could have caused her stress; could have triggered her condition?”

Epifania Itch

“I don’t know.”

Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.