Hattieville man dies days after brutal beating

Jeff Garnett

Almost a week after being brutally attacked by two young men, sixty year old Jeff Garnett succumbed to his injuries this morning. This case will now be treated as a murder.  On Tuesday of last week Garnett’s son, twenty-one year old Dorian, says that he was attacked first by the same two men but he was rescued by a friend. He says that the following day he discovered that his father was beaten to a pulp that same night. Garnett was later taken to the hospital where he remained in critical condition and later died.

Dorian Garnett, Son of the Deceased

“I mi gone buy food fi me and my pa by the shop and they whap up me ina my head. So I gone make a complain dah the station di night and the police deh noh do nothing. So one of my friends weh save me dah the shop ker me dah fi he house. He tell me I noh want yo go home by yourself so he took me to his house. It looks like my pa noh sleep without me dah the house so he gone dah the shop gone look for me and they attack he.”

Andrea Polanco

“So you were with your friend when you were attacked?”

Dorian Garnett

“Yes ma’am. He was outside on the road the wait and I was inside the shope. Btu eh and the shop keeper see eh they do me.”

Andrea Polanco

“Do you know why these two men attacked you? Did you have any problems with them before?”

Dorian Garnett

“No ma’am because I have wah young lady weh name Glenisha Flowers, my baby ma. Ih mi ketch baby cold and ih ma think me and my pa obeah ih daughter because the lee gial get sick but afterward the ma put wah inject pan ahn and since then the lee gial behave bad. Then they lone dash thing ina my face like dah me and my pa do the lee gial thing. So dah like they got it in for we long time.”

Dorian Garnett

Andrea Polanco

“So these two men are relatives of this person?”

Dorian Garnett

“Yes ma’am dah the lee gial uncle.”

Andrea Polanco

“What did they say to you when they went up to you that night?”

Dorian Garnett

“Well only Lee John attacked me; he said ih just whap me and ih say u di get my family crazy. Pop, pop in my forehead yah so with wah piece ah board till the board bruk. When I gone ova by ma side, my step uncle tell me how they beat up my pa the night—the same two men that attacked me. And I said no man; that it can’t be. So I hurry come home and I see my pa deh home ina ih bed di bleed; buss up. And I hurry hail the police and they assist me and took my pa to the clinic.”

Andrea Polanco

“Was your dad able to talk? What did he say to you if he was able to talk?”

Dorian Garnett

“All he said no ker me dah no hospital. That is all you tell me.”

Andrea Polanco

“So he didn’t want to go to hospital?”

Dorian Garnett

“No ma’am.”

Andrea Polanco

“When you called the police, what happened afterwards?”

Dorian Garnett

“They write up wah report and thing and the doctor called the ambulance and I gone home fi some clothes fi my pa because all ih mi have on dah lone pants and ih mi bloody, bloody—ih neva got on ih shirt.”

Andrea Polanco

“So he was taken to the hospital later on? What day of the week was this?”

Dorian Garnett

“Wednesday because dah mi Wednesday afternoon I find ahn home. What I hate is that mi family when I gone dah Belize City fi gone see mi pa, they make CIB hold me when I business fi deh with my pa. They assault me dah the hospital; anytime fi deh around they stay want hurt me because they believe I dah the one weh hurt my pa; but dah neva me hurt my pa.”

Andrea Polanco

“But why would they believe this? Did you ever maybe in a previous occasion had a fight with your father or anything like that?”

Dorian Garnett

“Everybody up yah know me. Me and my pa, we only quarrel and thing but we noh fight.”