Elderly P.G. man accused of murdering his wife, out on bail

Manuel Cucul

In other news….the oldest inmate to be on jail on remand is an eighty-three year old P.G. man charged for killing his wife back in May 2012. But tonight, Manuel Cucul is home after he was granted bail in the sum of ten thousand dollars by Justice Troadio John Gonzalez for the murder of his elderly wife in the village of San Marcus Village, Toledo District. Attorney Kevin Arthurs secured bail on a number of grounds. Arthurs submitted that Cucul was afflicted by dementia and amnesia and that his mental and physical conditions were deteriorating while he was on remand at the Kolbe facility. Cucul has already spent a year behind bars, and according to Arthurs, he has still not been provided with any disclosure in the matter nor has a preliminary investigation been conducted. Arthurs says that because of his mental condition, Cucul could not properly defend himself.

Kevin Arthurs, Attorney for Manuel Cucul

Kevin Arthurs

“Today in the Supreme Court before Mrs. Gonzalez, the bail petition for Manuel Cucul was heard. Cucul was an eighty-three year old inmate of the Kolbe facilities. He was charged for the murder of his wife. The application was moved today on behalf of the Human Rights Commission of Belize acting together with the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Council for the Aging. The application was supported by the affidavit from the Council for the Aging as well. The court found in favor of granting the bail for Mr. Cucul on grounds that he had in fact suffered a mental condition named as dementia. Mr. Cucul was deteriorating at an accelerated pace at the Kolbe Foundation and the application being made was heard urgently because there were some concerns from the both the facility and the authorities collectively about whether or not he would survive the hard conditions of the prison. It is important to say that it is extremely rare and only in exceptional circumstances that bail is granted for a prisoner who is charged for murder.”

Justice Gonzalez also directed the office of the D.P.P. to expedite Cucul’s case so that it can be determined whether or not the case will go to trial.