7 News Belize

Why Would They Kill Don Manuel?
posted (August 1, 2019)
As we reported last night, an elderly man was murdered, and his body left inside his Camalote house to rot. The victim is 78 year old Guatemalan national Manuel Barrera. He was chopped and stabbed to death. Courtney Weatherburne went out west to speak to the family and they are stunned that someone would be so heartless to kill an old man in such a vicious way. Here is that story.

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Aracely Barrera burst into tears as she tried to mask the putrid odor left inside her father's house after he was slashed and stabbed to death.

Manuel Barrera's body was found yesterday evening on the floor. Neighbors picked up on the stench coming from his home and alerted the police.

Mario Paredes, Friend
"When people passed here they smelled the odor and called the police and that is when the police came, opened the house and to their surprise, he was on the ground, dead, but the most terrible thing is he was murdered, he had chop wounds on his body."

His friend says Barrera was last seen on Monday afternoon as he was heading home with food.

Mario Paredes, Friend
"The last time they saw him was on Monday afternoon around 2:30 with his tortillas, he had a small dish of food. From that time up to now, no one saw him."

"He would go to Belmopan to play his guitar at the market and he would go to San Ignacio and when he left, he would lock the door so since we saw the door was locked we thought he was out in San Ignacio or in Belmopan."

So residents had no idea Barrera had been killed and that his body was locked up inside his house all this time.

Mario Paredes, Friend
"We didn't hear anything like an attack, nothing, we didn't even hear a scream, nothing, nothing."

Barrera's family and friends are also clueless as to who killed him and why.

Mario Paredes, Friend
"He congregated with us, for me he was a person of respect, he was a very good man, he went to church regularly, there are times he could not go because his knees hurt him that would be the problem. But he would always be with us and I do not know why someone would do so much harm to a person, for me, who did no one no harm."

Now his loved ones want justice for his cruel and senseless death.

Aracely Barrera, Daughter
"I just want there to be justice because my father was a hard worker and we don't want his death to be in vain, we want there to be justice."

Barrera leaves behind 8 children. Barrera lived alone in his Camalote home. Our information is that nothing was stolen from his house.

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