Police apply pressure in tourist murder

No arrests have yet been made but police tonight are a little bit closer to discovering the identities of three men who murdered a U.S. tourist Sunday night in Maya Beach. Interviews with robbery victims and investigations in the villages of Seine Bight and Placencia have led police to conclude that the three assailants were not area residents but may have been seen hanging around the Placencia Peninsula off and on during the previous week. A few names are beginning to surface and police are hoping that a lucky break may lead to a positive I.D. It seems that one patron of the bar in which the initial robbery took place had been taking photographs of friends earlier in the evening — at the same time the killers were there having dinner. It is hoped that at least one of the criminals was caught on film somewhere in the background. Those photos are due to be developed tomorrow in Belize City. In the meantime the incident has made big news back in the U.S.A. Murder victim Kirk Michael was a teacher who lived near Baltimore, Maryland. Today local television stations and newspapers were busy contacting their fellow journalists in Belize in pursuit of the story. Unfortunately there was more heat than light.