Man chops children, their mother; then kills a stranger
Three brutal murders have occurred over the weekend. We start our coverage in the peaceful and quiet village of Hopkins, located approximately twenty-five minutes from Dangriga Town. But on Saturday evening that tranquility was shattered by a chopping incident that took the life of a Cayo resident employed by Hamanasi Resort. Twenty-five year old Abelino Garcia was on the way home from work on a picado road when he was severely chopped multiple times to the body by an assailant still unknown to the police. His assailant it is believed had just moments before attacked a woman and her two children who were returning home after a fishing trip. News Five headed south and tried to put the pieces together to this strange series of attacks.
Noawel Nunez, Assisted Chopping Victim
“I didn’t hear any screaming. When I got there, the little girl was sitting down; she couldn’t even move. And her mom was there telling us it was a black man; it’s a black man; it’s a black man.”
Duane Moody, Reporting
According to respondents to a gruesome chopping incident that claimed the life of a man and left three others hospitalized. Sometime after five p.m. on Saturday, thirty-six year old Olivia Coc and her two children—a thirteen year old girl and a five year old boy—were walking home when they were attacked by a machete wielding assailant. While both minors received various chop wounds to the neck and right hand, their mother was chopped on the mouth and on both hands. Four of her fingers were severed.
Noawel Nunez
Noawel Nunez
“A guy stopped by here, a working from Jaguar Reef, another tour guide too. He stopped in front of my house and said there are two women over there with cut wounds and a little boy and he had the little boy in the vehicle. I told my wife let’s go over there and see what happened in there. Me and my wife jumped into our vehicle and when we went there, so when we got there, I wasn’t expecting what I see. One of the women had a big chop wound behind her head and other parts of her body—that’s the little girl, the daughter. And the mom, she had three of her fingers off and another chop wound in her hand, back and part of her mouth was hanging and her teeth was showing. So I came back, I got my brother-in-law with a pickup truck and we went there and pick her up and take her to the health center.”
Sgt. Wilfredo Ferrufino, O.C., Dangriga CIB
“Five-forty-five p.m. on Saturday evening, police responded to some victims at the Dangriga Southern Hospital. On arrival, they saw a female suffering from chop wounds. Also a female minor and a male minor. Another male person, Mister Abelino Garcia was also brought in. He was suffering from cut wounds to the head and to the arm. He succumbed to his injuries about six p.m. that evening.”
The twenty-five year old deceased, Abelino Barnabe Garcia, who worked in maintenance department at Hamanasi Resort, was heading home through this popular shortcut twenty feet away from where the attack on the Coc’s occurred. Despite being chopped, the five year old minor ran from his assailant; who then took chase after him. It is alleged that Garcia witnessed the attack on the youth, which caused the assailant to turn on him and hack him to death.
Noawel Nunez
“Another guy was yelling; there is another man in the bush there with chop wounds too. But I didn’t have time to go and see the other man with the chop wounds because I was dealing with the two women to take them. And the same time the police get there and pick up the other man and take him to police station.”
Wilfredo Ferrufino
A motive for the gruesome chopping has not been ascertained and the weapon has not been found. However, Sergeant Wilfredo Ferrufino, the Officer in Charge of the Dangriga Crime Investigation Branch says two persons have been detained for questioning in this homicide/chopping incident.
Sgt. Wilfredo Ferrufino
“We are looking at the same assailant. Even though from our investigation we have determined that Mister Garcia and the other three victims are from a separate scene, however, the close proximity would allows us to believe at this moment and from our investigation that it may be the same suspect.”
Duane Moody
“I understand that the authorities have two persons detained at this moment.”
Sgt. Wilfredo Ferrufino
“Right we have two persons detained and they are persons of interests and we questioned them and our investigation continues and they are in custody at this time.”
Noawel Nunez
“Jesus Christ it is very strange cause this is the first time I see something like that in Hopkins. I didn’t go through that path for years now because from her to the beach and work. Some people are afraid, so they won’t go through that path for right now.”
While the investigation continues into the murder and chopping, Coc and her two children are all admitted to the Southern Regional Hospital in a stable condition. Duane Moody for News Five.
Two men, Luis Coc and Sergio Aranda have been detained for questioning regarding the chopping incidents. The police are looking for one other person.
Such a heinous attack demands the harshest justice, the sooner the better. I would have been satisfied if the murderer had been lynched or hacked to death himself on the spot. That would have been more justice than society is likely to see from our legal process.
We need a law that serious violent cases go to trial quickly, maybe within 90 days of being charged unless “good cause” for a slight delay exists. No trial should drag out as long as 180 days after charges are filed.
We need the death penalty to be carried out. If there is an appeal it must be filed, heard, and ruled on within a fairly short time, maybe 180 days at the latest.
It’s been said here that the criminal lawyers have too much influence on the regime and that the myriad technical rights of criminals outweigh the security of the nation here. That is all true, and it must end.
PEOPLE POWER, PEOPLE’S JUSTICE.
We need to withdraw from the Caribbean Court, we can dispense the justice that Belize needs. We do not need any foreigners imposing their foreign ideas on how we need to solve our local problems.
We have some of the most narrow minded, dim-witted, incompetent police officers I have ever seen. It’s like their brain cannot function the way its supposed to. to do a simple investigation seems to be way out of their league. It seems to me that all they are good for is driving around all day, burning fuel. Lets get some training into these poor men so that they can at least try to solve ONE case in Belize. I am tired of hearing the old 3 word lie; “Police are Investigating.”
I have resisted being in favor of the death penalty for the simple fact that we have a FAILED justice system and we run the risk of having an innocent man’s blood on our hands. When incidents like this occur, incidents that are becoming almost a daily affair, it makes me think that it may be a necessary evil. These vicious, vile and just plain evil people are emboldened by the fact the they can kill without consequence and this is directly attributed to our FAILED justice system. It is disconcerting to think that events such as this will continue to happen because we have all lost our souls to social decay. Many will say oh this is just an incident of a love affair gone badly and this is exactly why thinking like that spawns atrocities like this; for when we rationalize the killing of a human being it detaches us from the fact that wanton murder is just simply put an act of pure evil. We have also lost leadership in this country for the only time our “Prime Minister” has anything to say about the affairs of our country is when the subject matter has to do with money specifically from his ill gotten utility companies. Mr. “Prime Minister” I have news for you, without taxpaying citizens where will the funds needed for misappropriation come from?
What about the three youths shot in Benque by police over the weekend?
Two dead, one in the hospital.
These crazies tried to chop police with long knives, cutting their own chests before charging the cops.all happened in front of their families.
Nigel, Belize voted for this government twice in a row.
You get what you vote for.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
But now it is a real test of the nation.
Is it a real country and pulls together?
Or is it a bunch of crooks pretending to be a country, each his own?
Hang together or hang separately, when it comes to the rule of law.
Crooks only hang for themselves, looking for the next followers they can use.
oh gracious god…. who in the world did this terrible thing.. i hope they capture him and hung him from his ….. and cut him in pieces too. U SEE WHAT THE DRUGS DO TO YOU.. AND BZE WANTS TO LEGALIZE IT DAMN THE !@#$%^& GOB.. MANY YRS AGO THE BLACK GUYS USED TO BE SCARED OFF BLOOD, NOW THEY’RE GETTING IT FROM ILEGAL PEOPLE ENTERING BZE. WHAT THE !@#$ IS HAPPENING TO THE JEWEL.
Noawel Nunez – you were brave to assist because based on the facts this crazed man would have killed anyone. Stay safe my brother! I pray these victims recover and are able to id their attacker – such ruthless person needs to be off our streets!
i agree with that one, Drugs can do make anyone do cruel things! In my village, those guy they like to sell drug and smoke it. I am not just saying it, i see them on the street, they are not afraid anymore! the other day there was a man that that set after a few village with matched…. it no longer safe, no where it safe we all just have to be prepared and defend our self. If no one was there he could of killed them also…. and one thing is that people are afraid to report. then they end up giving more courage to those drug dealer….
@ I Belize it, on March 7th, 2012 I woke up early in the morning in high spirits because it was election day and more important a holiday. I turned on the television watched a movie and then I got up took a shower and there after me and my girl got into our car. We drove straight to the polling station and then drove slowly pass to feast our eyes on the spectacle that is “democratic elections” in Belize. It was quite a show; all the “people’s representative’s (aka political aspirants) “and their minions were out there in full force dressed in their colours of oppression. They looked like wide eyed prostitutes complete with dollar signs in their eyes leering over sailors that have just come ashore.
We then kept on driving and stopped at our favourite Chinese eatery, I had the sweet and sour special with a cold beer (yeah they sold me beer on election day, all the beer I wanted) and when I was full, tipsy and satisfied I then drove home got back in bed watched a movie took a nap and fell asleep until around 3 p.m. when I got back up to light my grill and then I had my friends and family over for a bbq which lasted the rest of the day. I must say it was a day well spent and far more productive than going to vote. Everyone asked why I didn’t go out to vote; my response was voting is for the sheeple that still believe they can change their misery. If voting made a difference, if voting made our lives and society any better and was actually working for the good of the people and not just for the money and big business it has now become, half the attorneys turned politician would still be working in their law practices for they would certainly not be in politics out of the goodness of their cold hearts.
I find it unfortunate for people that actually believe that their votes still count. As far back as I can remember both sides cried foul every election because of the huge numbers of new voters (usually from Guatemala, Honduras and other parts of Central America) that either side furnish with the right to vote, a right that I must say that was fought hard for by the ordinary Belizean born citizenry of this once great nation. I was born in this country and I am a 4thGenreration Belizean and it really gets to me that the way I am governed is dictated by people that have just recently come to my country and know nothing of how born Belizeans have suffered under one singular oppressive regime that governs Belize under two separate names, UDP and PUP. I will not be quick to bash these people as we are but human beings and if handed opportunity we will take it and neither would I blame the politicians; I will however lay the blame squarely on we the people that stand idly by and allow it to happen. So I Belize it I would really rethink your statement “Belize voted for this government twice in a row” as most all of our past elections has nothing to do with Belize or Belizeans and has more to do with the opinions of people from other countries in Central America and the size of the bank accounts of the various political aspirants that pay them for the opportunity to enslave us for five to ten years at a time.
We can’t change our situation for five years but we can demand change from our glorified public servants (aka our Ministers of Government). Let’s start by not denouncing anyone that stands up for what is right and label that person a political antagonist. The wolves have divided us into blue and red flocks of the lame and weak and they are having gorging themselves.
Speedy recovery. I hope that person is caught. Did I read it right-the police took the injured man to the police station? That is such stupidity since they would not have been able to provide any medical care to the injured man.