7 News Belize

Double Murder Trial Begins, Will Stuart Couple’s Killers Walk?
posted (July 19, 2018)
Last night, we told you how the Supreme Court was finally ready to begin the trial for accused murderers Milton Maza and Eli Avila. They've been on remand at the Belize Central Prison for over 7 and a half years awaiting their day in court, after being accused of the double murders of attorney Richard Stuart, and his wife, Maria.

That happened back in October of 2010, when the couple was viciously attacked in their home, each stabbed as many as 20 times. It was a gruesome killing, and it happened while the couple's children were at home, sleeping. Their housekeeper had to lock herself and their youngest child inside a walk-in closet, and that's where she called 911.

Maza and Avila were arrested and charged days later, and since then, they've been behind bars awaiting today's start of their criminal trial.

Crown Counsels Killeru Awich and Rene Montero today called the first of their many witnesses to testify against the men, and at the midday break, we spoke with Maza's court-appointed attorney, Oscar Selgado.

Here's what he had to say about the first few hours of this case, and why the men had to wait so long for their day in court:

Oscar Selgado, Attorney for Milton Maza
"Unfortunately this case had a lot of technicalities to it. In the sense that it is purported to have DNA evidence and the DNA testing had to go abroad to Jamaica and so it took some time for state to have acquired the proper DNA testing and to get the results back to Belize and then the provision of the law had required at that time that the person who did the testing ought to have been in Belize. So the crown had the obstacle of bringing the person to Belize. But since the amendment of the evidence act, the person can now give his deposition as an expert through a third party or have it read into evidence by a third party and that is where it eased the burden on the crown and then secondly there was difficulty in finding representation for the both defendants. As you know in Belize capital offences the state is oblige to provide representation if the persons cannot find representation on their own and in this instance there was some difficulty in finding representation for both defendants. And that is understandably because the victims were people of standing in society. Richard was an attorney and his wife Maria was in fact an accountant of esteem stature. So there were some hesitant from attorneys to make representation."

"The pace of the trial will be dictated by the crown as to how much witnesses they want to call in and there is about 29 I think witnesses. But that does not means they will call everybody and some of them are only giving evidence that is merely corroborating what previous witnesses would have said. So I think I would give and take 2 weeks beginning today."

Reporter
"Can you tell us anything about the 4 witnesses this morning?"

Oscar Selgado, Attorney for Milton Maza
"There were witnesses that were called today when the case began in what we called procedural witnesses. Witnesses who identified the body of both deceased and then there was the evidence from the house keeper at the time and a security that was employed by the University of Belize next door."

As the case progresses, we'll have updates for you.

Interestingly, Legal minds who we've spoken to say that these 2 accused men may have an arguable case for the breach of their constitutional right to a fair trial in a reasonable amount of time.

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