Police officer gets life for common-law wife’s murder

A month ago, Cayo’s Police Constable Jose Zetina, was convicted of the gruesome murder of his eighteen year old common-law wife Rosa Mejia and today Zetina was back in court for his sentencing … life imprisonment. Just before pronouncing the sentence, Justice Herbert Lord heard mitigation pleas from Leo Bradley, Zetina’s attorney, as well as from two character witnesses, Maria Moh and Eduardo Alvarez. Maria Moh, his sister, testified that Zetina took care of their eighty-five year old father and seventy year old mother and asked for the court to be lenient with the sentence. Alvarez, a family friend and justice of the peace, testified that Zetina was the provider for his nine children and for his elderly parents. But Justice Lord handed him life behind bars.

The murder occurred on November twenty-ninth 2004 at the couple’s residence in Santa Elena Town. Mejia was stabbed in the throat with a knife, which was left wedged in the wound and she had several machete wounds over her body. Zetina’s rage was over an allegation that Mejia was involved in a relationship with another man. The prosecution was represented by Crown Counsel Trenia Young.