Eighty year old murdered; suspect escapes arrest
On March fourth, an elderly resident of Chan Pine Ridge in the Orange Walk District was brutally attacked outside his home. Eighty year old Jose Caal, a father of sixteen children, fell unconscious and had to be rushed to the hospital. He did not survive the attack and before his demise, he was able to identify and name one of the culprits. Caal died Tuesday of this week and the family is upset because the suspect has apparently eluded the law.
Juanita Fox, Daughter of Jose Caal
“My father was attacked. He, on the way from Chan Pine Ridge to the hospital, told my brother told my brother that was carrying him that he was attacked by two persons. At that moment he only said two persons. He was bleeding he was attacked with bricks, two bricks.”
Jose Sanchez
“Did they hit him over the head?”
Juanita Fox
“No, they attacked him from the back first and then from the front they crushed his bone with a brick. When I got the phone call, he was heading to the hospital, from there he was transported to Belize City.”
Sandra Caal, Daughter of Jose Caal
“When my dad came in when di incident happened my dad was, I could say, nearly dead and they transferred my dad to the surgical ward. My dad recovered a week and then spoke to us and he spoke to the police and identified the person who did it and his name is Luis Mejias.”
Jose Sanchez
“This Luis that he identified, what did the police do when he gave them that information?”
Sandra Caal
“Luis Mejias, they detained him for three days at the police station and Saturday morning they release him from the police station. And in the evening the police went to hold him again and they never find the person.”
Jose Sanchez
“Are they trying to liaise with the Honduran counterparts to get this guy back?”
Juanita Fox
“Apparently, the detective told us that yes, they are working with Interpol. But the fact that his step-father of this fellow, of this person, is an ex- police officer we have to push this issue for us to have justice for my father.”
Caal is scheduled to be buried by the end of the week.
