Child abuse charged in Bermudian Landing
From time to time we here at Channel Five are asked to intervene in a situation when official bodies, such as the police or Social Services, either cannot or will not get involved. Such was the case last month when several residents of Bermudian Landing in the Belize District asked me to look into a situation involving the alleged mistreatment of children and the suspicious death of a three year old girl. What I found was that beneath the calm surface of this seemingly tranquil village lies a turbulent world of drug abuse, alcoholism, parental neglect and personal animosity.
Adrian Hinds, 6 Years Old
“He grab me and then after that he start to ker me in a room and he start to lash.”
Q: “Why they lash you?”
Adrian Hinds
“Sake a I never me di listen.”
Q: “What they lash you with?”
Adrian Hinds
“Piece, a piece of plastic rope, black rope.”
It is still very difficult for six year old Adrian Hinds to talk about the severe beating he received shortly after he and his two younger sisters were adopted by a couple this summer. Hinds, who received numerous cuts to his back, was left bleeding and in pain.
Fallet Young, Family Friend
“His entire back was covered with welts and bruises right, which the adoptive father admitted that he whipped the child because of stealing different stuff from the house and what not.”
Robert Panting Jr., Former Boyfriend of Adrian’s mom
“I mean it was so shameful and disgrace. There was not a spot on the poor boy’s body that you can’t find a bust. No matter what a young baby do, you can’t, I don’t think you have that capital punishment.”
The Hinds children, who are from Bermudian Landing Village, were taken in by family friends, Mr. and Mrs. George Myvette of Scotland Half Moon Village, after their mother, Diana Hinds, neglected them and could no longer afford to take care of them. Relatives say the situation further escalated, when the boy’s little sisters were also physically abused. While Adrian and his four year old sister have since returned home in Burrell Boom Village, the family is grieving the loss of three year old Kelsey Charlie Hinds, who died on August fourth, while in the care of the Myvettes. Although Hinds’ death certificate said the baby girl suffered from an acute case of gastroenteritis, family, friends and villagers believe she also may have been abused.
Garnetta Rainay, Sister
“Well, I believe that they hit her and she died. That is what I believe.”
Q: “Why do you believe this?”
Garnetta Rainay
“Because of my little brother’s back and my little sister’s back.”
According to Dr. Byron Sierra, the physician who tended to Hinds when she arrived at La Loma Luz Hospital in Cayo, although he believes it is a possibility that the little girl got sick due to neglect, he cannot say if the baby girl was physically abused, saying only that he did observe some bruises on the child’s arm. Sierra said when he saw Kelsey, she was unconscious, dehydrated and suffering from respiratory arrest. They tried resuscitating her, but it was too late.
Robert Panting Jr., Father
“Well looking at the baby, I saw over her right eye, I saw a dent right here with a mark. Looking at the remainder of her face, as far as I can see, I didn’t see anything more.”
Dr. Sierra said he was told by the child’s guardians that Hinds had suffered with diarrhea and vomiting for twelve hours before she was finally rushed to the hospital. Because the Cayo hospital is not equipped with the facilities to conduct an autopsy and because the Cayo medical authorities did not believe the cause of death was criminal, a postmortem examination was never ordered. Meanwhile, C.I.B. did confirm to us that they received a phone call about the incident, but said once there is a death certificate and where there is no foul play suspected, there is little the police can do.
We spoke this afternoon to George Myvette, who did not wish to appear on camera, but said that the Hinds children were in their care for a period of eight months and during that time they never did beat baby Hinds. He said the child fell seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital where she later died. Myvette also told us that he beat young Adrian with a rope because the little boy began stealing things from their home and was hanging around with the wrong crowd. Myvette said it was better to discipline the boy the way he did, than to have him later end up in jail.
