Trio to Learn Date for Murder Retrial in Supreme Court

A retrial is pending in the case of Tyrone Meighan, Orel Leslie and Brandon Baptist, who were acquitted in 2015 of the November 2012 murder of Belize Defence Force soldier James Noralez. The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions successfully appealed the decision of then-Supreme Court Justice Troadio Gonzalez in the Court of Appeal, which ordered another trial for the trio. Today, the trio was back in court before newly appointed Justice Marilyn Williams for a case management conference in which depositions were to be reviewed, but the case was postponed to Tuesday after two members of the legal team representing them were not able to make it to court.  According to police investigations, all three men were linked to the murder after a relative of one of the accused told police that Noralez was targeted for death because he was allegedly a snitch. Noralez reportedly entered a black vehicle with Brandon Baptist as driver and Leslie Junior, and Tyrone Meighan inside. The vehicle then sped off into the direction of Faber’s Road and the George Price Highway around seven p.m. that night. About thirty minutes later, shots were heard in the area. The body of Noralez was found at the intersection with multiple gunshot injuries. Meighan, Leslie Junior and Baptist are represented by attorneys Bryan Neal, Senior Counsel Ellis Arnold and Richard “Dickie” Bradley. Today in court only Neal was present.