Crooked Tree death: accident, suicide or murder?
In September, a young man from Crooked Tree Village, Frederick Reynolds, was shot by a policeman while detained in the back of a pickup truck. Yesterday, the body of a fellow detainee who witnessed that shooting was fished out of Crooked Tree Lagoon. Were the two deaths related? News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams travelled north and discovered that the answer to that question is the subject of some disagreement.
Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting
Alex Adolphus, a twenty-seven year old labourer of Crooked Tree Village, was found floating in the lagoon on Wednesday. Police report he died of drowning and do not suspect foul play, while family members say he was murdered. Adolphus’ aunt, Alma Bull says she’s not satisfied with what the police are saying.
Alma Bull, Aunt of the Deceased
“Becauase it no look too correct to me. I far as I can see, my experience, I’m a village health nurse in Orange Walk and I deal with these kinds of things already, and it no look too satisfied to me, but we can’t do anything about it. We don’t have no clue or witness or anything. First thing, if he drowned this part of his belly would be up and if it wasn’t swollen only from his stomach to his head. The other part was swollen, but not like from his stomach to his head.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Was there any visible signs of violence, marks on the body?”
Alma Bull
“In that condition we couldn’t really identify it. The only mark I see, is his tattoo on his right leg. I felt so bad, because he’s so close to me and I didn’t even want to look at him because he was naked and it hurt me so much to see how he gone like that. He wasn’t a violent person. He no de bout the drink or mess with nobody. So I wonder what cause the matter, because he’s not a violent guy. But the way how it look from here, it look to me like torture because down here was swollen like it was torture.”
Down here, meaning his penis and testicles. Bull also said he had a cut on his hand and a small hole at the back of the neck. A close friend of Adolphus is Donald Gillett Jr. He said it was a fisherman who found Adolphus floating in the lagoon. He also saw a dory drifting, which contained one of the tennis shoes he was last seen wearing.
Donald Gillett, Friend of Alex
“At the conclusion of the autopsy, the doctor had mentioned two things, one of which was either excess consumption of alcohol or that the deceased had died as a result of usage of high drugs, drug overdose. The said doctor later concluded by saying that he died as a result of drowning.”
It’s not clear why he was found naked if he died of drowning, and to make matters worse, the pair of jeans he was last seen wearing on Sunday when he left home for a walk in the village, was found on top his bathhouse on Tuesday morning.
Ann-Marie Williams
“Gillett believes that there is a distinct connection between Alex Adolphus’ death and the September incident in which Fredrick Reynolds was shot by the police.”
Donald Gillett
“He was one of two detainees. Now he’s gone and leaves another behind. Information gathered is that the remainder was in search of over the past week.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“The other detainee?”
Donald Gillett
“Yeah, over the past week. For what I cannot say, but myself would really want to know what is behind this.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Who was searching for the other person?”
Donald Gillett
“Names have not called.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Policemen? Residents?”
Donald Gillett
“No, not policemen. I understand a civilian car came in with armed personnel who were in search of the other person.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Where was Alex at that time?”
Donald Gillett
“I’m not sure where Alex was at that time.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“But he was still alive?”
Donald Gillett
“He was still alive.”
Gillett feels that Adolphus would still be alive had it not been for drugs.
Donald Gillett
“I had gathered that in fact he had gotten the drug from the individual, who’s name at this point in time I would never call. And it makes me believe, after the conclusion of the autopsy, which I’ve heard the doctor mention it could be from over-dosage, I put both together, which ended up telling me that there’s a definite possibility that he had died as a result of over-dosage of drugs.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“This individual would be an enemy then?”
Donald Gillett
“This individual is a businessman, he sells drugs. If you sell drugs and I’m a drug user and I want to purchase drugs, I would definitely find a way to get to you in order to acquire my necessity.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Maybe he just voluntarily took the drug then?”
Donald Gillett
“That could be.”
According to Dr. Martinez, the forensic doctor who performed the post-mortem, drugs were also found in his system. But whatever the case, the drugs are only one more complication in a series of deaths in what was once considered to be one of Belize’s more peaceful and picturesque communities. Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
Police press officer G. Michael Reid told News 5 that the police do not suspect foul play as family members told them that Adolphus had emotional problems and was smoking weed heavily. Whether this means they believe the young man’s death was a suicide or accident is not clear.
