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A Cruel Killing in Corozal
posted (May 31, 2010)
The family of a 20 year old Corozal woman is getting ready to bury her tonight after she was viciously stabbed to death by her common law husband. It's what the headlines will call a crime of passion, but as we found out today the cruelty and calculation in this act by a man deranged by jealously was more bloodlust than passion. Here's the story from Corozal.

Jules Vasquez, Reporting
This is 27 year old James Jackson waiting to be taken to prison on remand for murder. His hand is bandaged from the stab wound he inflicted on himself after stabbing his 20 year old common law wife Elena Estela Amador to death. It happened here at the couple's home in the lower flat at the corner of 3rd. Street North and 6th. Avenue Corozal Town. When police responded to the scene at 3:00 am on Sunday morning they found Jackson in front of the house

Supt. Miguel Guzman , O.C. Corozal Police
"He was in the yard in boxers and he handed over what appeared to be a broken kitchen knife with a broken blade and police later on went into the house and they saw the motionless body of a female later identified as Elena Amador 21 years of age laying in a pool of blood on the floor of the kitchen area. He was quite calm and he spoke to the officer. Because of the initial report when police arrived at a scene the first thing you do is ask questions what happened and he told the police certain things. "

According to the official report, that certain thing he told police was, quote " I Just Stab up mi gial and kill ah. She de inside".

The events that led to her death started at a pageant on Saturday night when the 20 year old was partying with friends:

Apollo Riverol Jr., Brother of Deceased
"I spoke to her and ask her 'Que paso Elena, como estas?" and then she replied 'no me hable soy molesto' so I came out and leave her there. She was with some friends. After that I went and when the party finish I came out and her husband saw me and he told me 'Apollo, didn't you go dancing?' I told him no, and I ask why, he said because I want to throw a bomb on you, because my girl is a lesbian. I look at him and ask him why did he say that? I thought he was drunk. I just walk out and went. "

Yari Castenera, Cousin of Deceased
"What happen last night was that she came in at 2 am in the morning. She was with 3 other girls that same night, only with 3 girls and no guys. She went out with them to eat after the pageant. She didn't come in until 2 am in the morning. My dad, who was her uncle, heard when she came, she was laughing and then she came into her house and then he heard her husband shouted at her and she shouted back. After that he heard her scream, but he wasn't sure, then he heard her scream again. He taught that the man was beating her. After than he didn't hear anything else from her. He only heard the man shouting and shouting, but we didn't hear her voice. It was by that time already that it seems that he already stabbed her 4 times and she was already unconscious on the ground bleeding to death. I guess what triggered it was that he had asked her to come home with him at that hour, but she told him that she was going to go out with her friends, he didn't like that. When she came in he wanted to know where she was. I guess that's what triggered it. The thing is he saw her with her friends, he didn't see her with any guys. The same friends were the ones who dropped her off. I don't think he should have reacted in such a way."

But that he did is shocking but not unforeseeable because the pair had a history of antagonism and arguments:

Apollo Riverol Jr.
"My sister use to tell me that they use to fight and quarrel, I use to go running over there to see what's happening. She told me that she wanted to leave her husband because her husband used to tell her that she had other men. I think she was a girl who like her liberty, she like going out with friends to the dance. For me I think she was a good girl, I think her husband didn't like the liberty that she had."

Yari Castenera
"She is like me. I am 19 years old and my cousin is just 20 years old. At our age we like to go out with friends and have fun. We like to call each other at 1 o'clock in the morning. It's nothing bad, we are just calling and texting our friends. The thing is that the young man didn't like that. That was one of the main problems between them that she would always be texting her friends and going out with them. Any man would say, 'Oh she is texting, who the heck is she texting?' Any man would do that."

And over time, that difference and distance between this young woman and her older man is probably what culminated in the life-ending dispute

Apollo Riverol Sr., Father of Deceased
"Yesterday I was in Carmelita Village about 7 am in the morning when my nephew went to look for me with the news that they killed my daughter."

Yari Castenera
"I never really thought badly about her husband. I guess jealousy drives a person to do really horrible things."

And there is a lesson in this death as well:.

Yari Castenera
"I would like to tell women out there who are suffering domestic violence to please talk to someone and don't let this go silent. This is very shocking, because we knew she had problems in her home but we didn't expect for her to end up dead from one morning to the next. Hopefully a lot of women learn from this situation, if something is wrong in your home, report it, tell it, and don't go silent. Lots of bad things happen when you keep quiet."

James Jackson known as Dandy was arraigned on a murder charged and ordered to be remanded to prison.

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