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In The Aftermath Of A Double Murder, Pain, Loss, Incomprehension…
posted (June 8, 2017)
It's been a very difficult week for the Corozal families of Zeidy Orosco and Balthazar Lopez. The couple went missing last week Thursday night, and for days, their families were out searching frantically. That's until yesterday afternoon, when their decomposing bodies were found in an area near the Consejo Shores dump site.

It's the tragic end that they were hoping would not come to pass, and, when it did, they were still unable to bury their loved-ones. Police wanted to perform an on-site post-mortem, but they couldn't do it yesterday. So, it didn't happen until early this morning, after which the police finally released the bodies to the family, for hurried funeral arrangements.

Our news team travelled back to Corozal today to see where the couple was dumped, and to see Orozco and Lopez being laid to rest. Daniel Ortiz has that story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
After more than 5 days of searching, the bodies of Zeidy Orozco and Balthazar Lopez were found here, in this clearing, which is off to the side of a feeder road coming from the Consejo Shores road.

It's so much off the beaten path, that our news team almost missed it, but following instructions, we stumbled upon it after sticking around long enough. That was when the smell of decay started wafting out from the dump site of the couple's bodies.

As we walked towards the area, we found police caution tape, and the odor of decomposition was so heavy, that it was almost stifling.

Yet, this was where the bodies of couple were disposed of, the disregard for human dignity clearly apparent. And, according to police, how we found the area is exactly the way they were first discovered yesterday. Someone came here to dump garbage, and the smell drew their attention.

But, this wasn't where the police and the medical examiner conducted the post-mortem, which was supposed to be on-site. They removed the couple and took them about 3 miles away to this area, near the sea.

After the police were done with the examination, the families waited anxiously to take them for burial. They were already agitated that their loved-ones had to spend another night exposed to the elements, instead of being respectfully laid to rest.

As soon as the police gave them, the go-ahead, 2 coffins were brought to deposit their remains, and everyone raced to the old Corozal Cemetery. But there was no proper goodby, because the families couldn't open the caskets due to the advanced state of decomposition.

And, observing from afar, the grief and pain that these family members and friends felt, was clearly visible.

Balthazar's brother says that they can now grieve and begin to heal.

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"It's day 1 of the healing process, would you agree?"

Martin Lopez - Brother of Baltazar Lopez
"Yes. Finding the bodies was one of the main objectives. The last option was finding them dead. But thank God when the police assisted after all, the many civilians, relatives from the female and male and we reach to the point that we found the bodies. We are putting them to rest now. That's all we can say and we want to thank everyone that assisted us financially, emotionally and in the search. It's very hard, because this is the last time we will even see the caskets. It is impossible to open them, because it really stinks. So it's really hard. Many people are fainting, many people are crying their feeling for that love one and we have to be strong. Life continues. It will take time to forget."

And for this Corozal resident, this double murder has shaken his trust in the safety of communities in this northern-most district.

Martin Lopez - Brother of Baltazar Lopez
"Corozal, I don't know what to say about Corozal anymore."

And after the long, agonizing wait to get the burial stage, they still want to know how their loved-ones died.

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Did the police tell you what was the cause of death as determined by the examiner?"

Martin Lopez - Brother of Baltazar Lopez
"No, not yet. All we want to do tonight is to watch the news. Maybe they will come out and say something. We can't judge anyone or blame anyone. At this point we just want to give thanks to everyone. That's all I can say."

At 11:00 am, police informed the media that the post mortem confirmed a quite bizarre end for the couple: Baltazar Lopez was shot in the head, while Zeidy Orozco died from blunt force trauma to the head - meaning she was beaten or clubbed to death.

The families would like to thank everybody who supported them during the almost week-long search.

Zeidy Orosco was the mother of an 8 year old child, while Baltazar Chan had a family in Ranchito.

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