Machete wielding husband jailed after assaulting wife

Wayne Welch

Forty-five-year-old Wayne Welch, a taxi driver of a Rivero Street address, is tonight on remand at the Belize Central Prison after being unable to meet bail, following a charge of aggravated assault.  On August twelfth, thirty-year-old Tanya Matura reported to police that Welch, who is her common-law husband, arrived at their home shortly before one o’clock that afternoon and approached her wielding a machete.  Welch then proceeded to threaten Matura and her family over alleged infidelities, before throwing a bottle at her.  It is alleged that Matura went to Melchor on August eleventh and stole a few items. She had been detained in that jurisdiction pending charges.  She later returned home. It is not certain if she was ever charged for any wrongdoing but that is apparently the reason why Welch threatened her.  He appeared before Magistrate Dale Cayetano, where his initial plea was replaced with an equivocal plea of not guilty because he had no one to bail him.  There was no objection to bail which he was offered in the sum of three thousand dollars, plus one surety of the same amount.  Welch’s case was adjourned to October twenty-second. However, Welch owed the court a total of five hundred dollars from offenses dating back to 2005, which he had to clear before being allowed bail, as a result he has been placed on pretrial detention.