Manslaughter conviction for beer bottle death

Also in the court, an eighteen year old, who was on trial for the murder of twenty-seven year old Honduran national, Jerson Paguada Hernandez, was convicted of the lesser charge late Friday evening. After only two hours of deliberation, the twelve member jury emerged with a unanimous verdict, finding Estevan Williams not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Paguada, a Belmopan resident, was stabbed to death with a broken beer bottle in San Jose Succotz Village on June twenty-ninth, 2008. A confession statement was presented in evidence against Williams, in which he told police that Paguada had asked him for two dollars and tried to punch him when he didn’t give him the money. Williams retaliated by stabbing him with the broken bottle. During his trial in the Cayo Supreme Court, Williams claimed that he was instructed by a police officer to give the statement and that he did not know Paguada. He was represented by Attorney Philip Palacio while Senior Crown Counsel, Cecil Ramirez, prosecuted the case. Justice Troadio Gonzalez has deferred sentencing until Tuesday.