7 News Belize

A Shallow Grave For Samir
posted (October 15, 2019)
A San Lazaro villager was stabbed to death and his throat slashed. A team of police officers, residents and relatives found Hazid Samir Diaz's body in a shallow grave in a field on Sunday morning after 10:00. Courtney Weatherburne went up north looking for answers.

This morning Hazid Samir Diaz's family house was all shut. His family was out making burial arrangements while trying to cope with his death.

Diaz was killed and his body found on Sunday morning in a shallow grave in this field not too far from his home. Diaz left his home on Saturday evening. He was last seen later that evening drinking with some men who were not from the village. But when Diaz did not return home his family became concerned.

Voice of: Juan de Dios Moguel, Secretary, San Lazaro Neighborhood Watch
"Hazid usually get home at 2-3am in the morning. Since he is my neighbor you would usually hear the dogs barking when he is passing. So on this occasion his mom was aware because it's not a usual thing of him not coming home at that time, so he did not appear home at 3am in the morning and by 6:30am they called all their relatives and cousins with whom he was hanging out with the day before and none of them have seen or heard of Hazid since the day before around 6:30pm in the evening and that's when the family became more aware and his sister started to patrol around the village to ask and inquire if they had seen her brother earlier and nobody has seen him and it so happens that she remember some of the areas that he usually takes traffic. It's a routine that he takes every day. She went by on the outskirts of the village and then I do believe it's the intuition of a sister, that actually she observed parts of the cane field on the sidewalk that was mashed and some of the leaves had blood. So she entered the nearby cane field and then she saw a pool of blood and she started screaming and that's when the neighbors came out and ask her what is happening and she started to shout that she thinks that blood is for her brother."

The family then called the neighborhood watch as well as police to assist in locating Diaz's body. The team found a trail of blood which led to a blood-stained wheelbarrow and a shovel, and a then a distance away they found a bloody green shirt. All these clues finally led them to the shallow grave where Diaz's body was buried.

Reporter
"What injuries you observed on the body?"

Voice of: Juan de Dios Moguel
"Up to now officially we haven't heard, but one of the things that they are saying is that it is various stab wounds to his chest and slit throat as well. That's what we have heard, but nothing official as yet."

Reporter
"Did his family say if he told them where he was going when he left after 6 on Saturday evening?"

Voice of: Juan de Dios Moguel
"Normally Hazid wouldn't tell his family where he is going, because he is well known by the law as well, in the village and he is seen here, there and everywhere within the community, but it was no given part or Hazid to leave the village. He would always remain the village even if he is drinking or whatever he would always remain within the confines of the village."

According to Moguel, the family has their suspicions as to who and why Diaz was murdered but that is all they are at this time.

Voice of: Juan de Dios Moguel
"At this point talking to the family, they have hinted, but they are reserve with their comments. As I mentioned they have been up to give their report, but they are still kinda enclosed with their information since its still under investigation, but according to the family they have suspects' allegations of whom they might think it is at this point."

"The motive as I tell you: the young man is well known by the law and so there could be many factors towards it."

There have been several incidents in the village recently including a home invasion in early September and, now, with this latest homicide, the neighborhood watch has to be on high alert.

Voice of: Juan de Dios Moguel
"Recently we have had back to back incidents. First of all we had Miss Rubia, she had a home invasion and she was badly injured along with her husband and then we have the invasion of the chairman of the water board as well and sitting here and being a resident and a past village council chairperson, I have seen so many things happening, a lot of strange people coming into the village and that when I started commenting with my dad, who is a senior justice of the peace and I told him I cannot just sit here and see that things are getting worse in my community. I am very pro=active in this fight against the crime and I am so glad that San Lazaro is taking the lead and we have seen the nearby villages of Trinidad and August Pine Ridge as well calling their meeting to form their neighborhood watch which we will try to create a network and see if anything happens in the surrounding villages or in our village we could just link up and that's the primary role of the neighborhood watch. We want to make sure that San Lazaro is safer like before."

Information we received this evening is that Mexican police caught the murder suspect on that side of the border, and he will be brought to Belize to face charges.

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