Isvin Zepeda wanted in connection with friend’s murder
The weekend’s fourth homicide occurred in the north of the country in August Pine Ridge, Orange Walk early Sunday morning. This time it is believed that alcohol abuse triggered the brutal incident in which an eighteen year old young man was dead after partying the night away. Police are on the hunt for his good friend and his brothers. Marion Ali reports from Orange Walk.
Marion Ali, Reporting
It wasn’t anything strange when eighteen year old Rojein Murrillo, shown in this picture five years younger, and his friend, Isvin Zepeda went to an isolated area in August Pine Ridge to drink on Sunday night. That was one of their favourite ways to pass the time. But when the two got into a physical strength challenge, it turned violent and ended up deadly sometime after midnight on Sunday.
Cpl Jeffrey Williams, O.C., C.I.B., O.W.
“They were trying out their strength, fight which end up in a serious situation. He was in a pool of blood with several chop wound to the head and body area. On his left hand some fingers was amputated.”
Marion Ali
“Have you found the murder weapon?”
Cpl Jeffrey Williams
“Yeah we found a machete, possible could be the murder weapon.”
But while police have what they believe was the murder weapon, their main suspect, Isvin Zepeda is still at large. Officer Commanding the Orange Walk Crimes Investigations Branch, Corporal Jeffrey Williams, says Murrillo and Zepeda are from the same village and have been friends for a long time. Police say the two are known to hang out in the village park, but changed venues when their drinking sprees started to get unruly. And this is exactly what police believe happened early this morning when another test of physical strength sent an angry Isvin Zepeda looking for help set the score even.
Cpl Jeffrey Williams
“What they normally drink is the strong rum which locally we call it red top and this is where the incident happened, to the back of the village.”
Marion Ali
“They normally get violent with each other when they drink?”
CPL Jeffrey Williams
“Normally they try out their strength I understand. They’d normally wrestle with each other. Apparently when the fight ensued Isvin went for his two other brother, which is Lucio and Harvey Zepeda and they returned with machetes also. So they too are wanted for questioning.”
This lady, who preferred to remain off-camera, was in the area at the time and heard the commotion.
Voice of Witness (Translated from Spanish)
“I saw three men approaching with machetes and they followed the seventeen year old guy and they chased him down. I ran when I saw the guys attack him and when I noticed that they had left, I returned to the scene to see what happened. And the guy was on the ground and I shouted to them to leave him alone and the guy was bleeding on the floor.”
This blood-stained patch is the spot where Murrillo was left to die. Orange Walk police believe his killers have absconded to Mexico and are working with their northern counterparts to apprehend them. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.
