Another day, another murder in the city

The nation’s thirty-second murder of 2008 took place last evening, just after the sun set over Belize City. By all accounts it was just one more senseless execution style shooting. But as News Five’s Marion Ali reports, every murder leaves behind a large and tragic measure of collateral damage.

Glenda Madrill, Mother of Murder Victim
“I wouldn’t believe that my turn mi wah come.”

Marion Ali, Reporting
Twenty-six year old Christino Madrill was at the corner of Castle Street and Pitts Alley, couple hundred yards from his Frederick Street home when around six forty-five Monday evening he was gunned down. Ironically, his mother, Glenda Madrill, says she was watching a T.V. news report on the murder of another youth when tragedy paid her a personal call.

Glenda Madrill
“I mi di look pan di news and eena bout when half ah di news done gone one a mi nephew come holler fi mi and tell mi deh just done shot up Cook. I get up right away and gone eena my vehicle and straight to hospital. When I get deh I see di doctor deh done di put on thing fi go da surgery.”

But surgery could not save the young father’s life. Three of the bullets hit him: one in the jaw, another in the ribcage and a third in the upper back. He succumbed four hours later. Madrill says while her son was no bad boy, he had an unstable temperament.

Glenda Madrill
“Every time ih does drink ih does go on bad. Like ih drunk and then ih cuss people when ih drink but front ah my face ih alright but back ah my back I noh know weh ih do out deh, yoh know.”

Marion Ali
“Gang activity, was he involved in that?”

Glenda Madrill
“No. But yoh have a lot of player haters out yah.”

And this is what police are trying to figure out; whether Madrill’s killing was simply an unfinished piece of gang business.

Hilberto Romero, Deputy O.C., C.I.B.
“The deceased was eating some food seated on top of his car when he was approached by a male person who fired several shots at him, three which caught him.”

Marion Ali
“Was the attacker on bike, on foot, in a car?”

Hilberto Romero
“We have information that the attacker was on bicycle.”

Marion Ali
“And he was acting alone or in a group?”

Hilberto Romero
“We believe he was acting alone.”

Marion Ali
“this person–you’ve released the name of one “Jeremy”. Is that all you have on this alleged gunman?”

Hilberto Romero
“We have detained that particular person and we have also detained several other persons and the investigation is ongoing and as soon as we have evidence to charge anyone that person will be charged.”

But while Madrill’s family believe their loved one’s killing could have been linked to a recent incident in the area, police are sticking to the consistent theory of it being an “old beef.”

Hilberto Romero
“The information we are getting is that it was an old misunderstanding with this person had with another person of another area of the city.”

Glenda Madrill
“Sunday night deh mi have wah party pan Victoria and wah shootout mi gone up da same night and ih look like da wah shootout with this same Majestic crowd and some young boy, noh. So Majestic crowd seh that they wah come back and kill out di whole ah dis area yah.”

And while street talk is that the violence will not stop, this means that more mothers like Glenda Madrill will be left to cope with the loss of a child.

Glenda Madrill
“We mothers talk to children plenty. But you know, once deh over eighteen deh noh want listen to parents man so deh children weh di come up today day have to listen to parents. Dis da noh like one time ago weh mi calm. Dis timeyah dah bad time right now and everybody have gun. I da just want tell di parents deh mek deh just talk to deh children. That’s all I want tell them. Talk to them more cause all ah wi feel fi wi pickney.”

And while her child was the apparent target, an eighteen year old mother and her young baby narrowly escaped one of the bullets which penetrated their wall about a hundred feet from the crime scene.

Candis Stevens, Escaped Bullet
“I mi di lie down right yah and I come by yah so. All weh I hear da boom! Ih mi look like pop shot but dah never pop shot. When I get up I do my ears so and I start rub my eye and my heart start beat fast. And I gone outside deh and come back in. When I come back in my stepfather ask me if I get hurt. I tell ah no. So now when he come back home with my ma we mi di fix up di bed and sweep out and thing. So he come eena di room come sweep. When he come in he find the bullet pan di ground. So he ask my ma if da wah bullet and my ma tell ah yeah. So he gone call di police den we show di police weh part ih come from.”

While police have taken the slug which breached the wall at the Stevens’ residence, they say they recovered none from the murder scene.

Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.

Of this year’s thirty-two murders, twenty-one have occurred in Belize City.