Caye Caulker Woman Is Murdered Inside Home
Leslie Verde
An investigation into the death of thirty-two-year-old Leslie Verde continues. Verde was found dead in her home in Caye Caulker Village on Saturday morning. She was found unresponsive by her daughter who, with the help of her uncle, rushed Verde to the health center where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The police department has labeled this matter as a “death investigation”, but Verde’s family believes she was murdered. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo was on Caye Caulker today and has the story.
Hipolito Novelo reporting
Tonight, the family of thirty-two-year-old Leslie Verde is demanding answers.
Voice of: Gilbert Lopez
Voice of: Gilbert Lopez, Brother of Deceased
“My sister, we want justice, you understand? We don’t blame him because we want, or we’re pointing fingers at him because we knock for his head and we decide to point fingers.”
Verde’s family believes she was murdered and so, they want to know why the Belize Police Department labeled the matter a “death investigation”.
Voice of: Gilbert Lopez
“I don’t know what they’re thinking about because they want us to do their job, you understand? The way I see the police, if the police could just say she killed herself, it’s easier for them. Because then the case is done, they don’t have to do paperwork. You understand? But we can’t say that. Because we are family members. The officers do their job because they get paid to do that. They don’t do this because they feel sorry for us or we have to help this family. No, they vex that they have to do their job. That’s just a normal officer. I don’t have nothing towards or vex. I am just considering why they don’t investigate how they suppose to investigate it because that’s common sense. If my sister me kill herself, she would be hanging from a rope, or whatever she kill for herself with would be in the room because whatever they kill she with or she kill herself with, is not in the room because the thing where the under your neck a marks, like a itch, something like whatever they use, had an initial on it like a chain. You understand? If she me use that to kill herself, that would be beside her. Where is the evidence? You know, everything they buy along to where the policeman tell we, because then she has a mark under her neck where we check when we took her to the clinic. Somebody hold her from behind and choked her because we know somebody hold her from behind a choke her. Because, nobody a go up there a chance. Nobody a hang themself up on the ground because we find she up on the ground.”
Leslie Verde
Hipolito Novelo
“Your sister ever try hurt herself?”
Voice of: Gilbert Lopez
“Never. She have kids. She was a single mom. Everybody know, somebody kill my sister. If I could, I may blame somebody else. I may willingly blame somebody else. But I cannot. I cannot boss. I can’t blame you. I can’t blame she. I can’t blame nobody because the finger is pointing to one person, boss.”
Verde was found dead in her house in Caye Caulker Villager on Saturday morning. The police report says that Verde arrived home at around 5 o’clock that morning. Her body was later discovered by her daughter between ten-thirty and eleven o’clock. According to police, bruises were observed on Verde’s neck. Police say there we no signs of forced entry.
Voice of: Gilbert Lopez
“I see everybody run towards my sister’s house that is behind my house. So when I look now, I peep, they wait for one of the guys to come out and show me a sign that, Boy, your sister dead! And me as a brother, I never believed. So I tell my boy, bring her down so we can take her to the clinic. And so when they bring her down and make her care in a clinic, we gone. So I start call everybody who are family members. I call my ma, I call my sister. And you know, when I had the day, when I reached, the doctor said, “ya fallo”. He said she done dead about five hours now. She said because she was blue, swell up. Your sister no just dead. She died long time.”
Verde was rushed to the village’s health centre where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Her body was transferred to the KHMH morgue where it awaits a post mortem examination. Chairlady of the village, Seleny Villanueva-Pott, told News 5 that Verde’s death left the small village in shock.
Seleny Villanueva-Pott
Seleny Villanueva-Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker Village Council
“When we hear news like these, in particular a young lady, who the community knows, it’s very frightening, it’s very… concerning and I think most of all we were taken aback with such news. The community on a whole is probably still in shock.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Did you know her personally?”
Seleny Villanueva-Pott
“Yes, I did. Very acquainted with her. Very nice young lady. Always smiling. Her kids were her priority. We interacted on several occasions and she was a good mom and always looking out for her kids. The last good memory I have of her is her trick or street thing when her kids on Halloween. So that’s the kind of mother she was, took time out for her children.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
Late this evening, police informed the media that forty-four-year-old Juan Carlos Novelo was charged with Verde’s murder.
