Cut by her man, woman declines to press charges

Tips have been pouring in to police on the whereabouts of Belize’s most wanted, Louie Ganzie. Unfortunately, most of those tips place him in different parts of the country. Police say, however, that although he has likely shaved his dreads and beard, his face is recognisable enough that it’s only a matter of time until he is caught. And while that manhunt continues, tonight there is word that the survivor of a similar attack has dropped the charges against her husband. Last April, Lord’s Bank resident Carol Young had to be hospitalised with serious injuries to her neck and hand following a violent domestic dispute with her spouse, forty year old Elias Young. According to Carol’s original police report, around ten-thirty that night Elias came home drunk and when she refused his hug, he became enraged and grabbed a kitchen knife. He then used it to cut her throat and as Carol tried to defend herself, cut her index, middle, and little fingers. She was rushed to the hospital where her injuries were classified as grievous harm. The attack was witnessed by the couple’s two daughters, then aged fourteen and nine. Elias is no longer living with the family. Carol declined to specify precisely why she declined to pursue the case but told us she applauds other women who “have the guts” to press criminal charges against abusive husbands. For her part, Carol says she feels no shame about her scars and shares her story with just about every woman she meets to encourage them not to tolerate such treatment.