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For the past 2 days, we've been taking a close look at the implications of Tuesday's guilty verdict against the accused murderers, William Danny Mason, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo. Justice Antoinette Moore has found all 5 of these men guilty of the 2016 beheading murder Pastor Lewellyn Lucas.

Pastor Lue's killing is one of the most gruesome crimes that we've reported on, and Mason, the man believed to be the mastermind behind the murder, has a very interesting backstory. Before coming to Belize, he lived in Guyana as Rajesh Ouellet. A few years later, he turned up in Canada as the allegedly shady businessman known as Ted Oulette. And then several years after that, he came to Belize and became the man we know today as William Danny Mason.

Given his wealth and political connections, there were many Belizeans who believed that he would be acquitted of Pastor Lue's murder. But,  that's not what happened. Solid police and forensic work on the case resulted in a successful prosecution against him and his employees. 

DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal personally led a tenacious and thorough prosecution against these 5 defendants.  She had the task of turning all the different pieces of circumstantial evidence into a convincing case to prove their guilt.

This afternoon, 2 days after the end of the trial, she sat down with us for a rare interview to discuss different elements of it. Here's what she had to say about the verdict, and about the possibility that these 5 defendants will appeal their convictions:

Reporter
"Give us your immediate reaction to the outcome of the judgment, given the work that you all put in to get to that point."

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, SC - Director of Public Prosecutions
"I would say that I was very relieved that they were all found guilty. I was, I think, is a terrible state leading up to the verdict. As a prosecutor, you put in all this effort into the case. You plan you prepare, you have the path upon which your case is going to go, and every single day, you're hoping that at the end of that path, Lady Justice is waiting to greet you. But then, there's this point between when you've finished with your case, and then it's in the hands of someone else."

Reporter
"Are you anticipating that an appeal of this particular judgment is pending?"

Chery-Lynn Vidal, SC
"Without a doubt, in my entire career, I don't think that I have seen anyone convicted of murder decline to lodge an appeal. So, I really don't see it as an issue arising. I really don't see it as something being contemplated by the convicted men. I am certain that they are going to file."

Reporter
"Do you think it can stand up - the entire case can withstand the scrutiny of a higher appellate court's perusal?"

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, SC
"Well, I can't say what a Court of Appeal will or will not do, but I can say that I was of the view that we provided a very strong. It was up to the judge, as to whether or not she accepted our evidence. She did. I have not had an opportunity to see the judgment, as yet. But, from the summary, it was obviously a decision that the judge came to after very, very careful consideration."

As we told you, Mason was a political insider, and he had police friends in high places. So, we wondered if the DPP or the investigators ran into any interference that could have frustrated their pursuit of justice for Pastor Lucas. Here's how the DPP answered that one:

Reporter
"In this particular trial, regular folks I've spoken to, there was this intense scepticism that Mason had an opportunity, or that he would get off. What's your view on the perception that the more wealth a particular defendant has, the easier that person's chances are to evade justice?"

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, SC
"I am not sure how I should properly answer that question, Daniel. I think as Director, I should say something that will try to suggest that everyone should have faith in the justice system and that we should think that justice is not an illusion. So, if I can answer the question as Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, rather than as DPP. I have at many points thought that influence - let's not just say the financial status of a person, but influence. It could be political influence, financial influence; even street influence sometimes plays a bigger role in whether or not justice is obtained at the end of the day. It is a fact. I can think at least 3 cases off the top of my head where I felt that if this was anybody else, this is not how this would have gone."

Reporter
"He was rubbing shoulders with some of the most powerful men in Belize, in the halls of power. And there are also indications that he had friends or influence with police officers in high places within the department. Was there at any point that you, or the investigator, or any of the other authorities working on this particular trial felt that roadblocks were being put in the way to stop the pursuit of justice?"

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, SC
"You say roadblocks. We ensured that we sent our sweepers out a very long time before the trial started. We were alive to the possibility that there may have been interference from somewhere, anywhere. And we took steps to insulate the case. Some of them were minor steps. Some of them were major steps. We did periodic spot checks for instance, on all our exhibits, from the month before the trial, so that we were kept abreast of everything, and where every single thing was. We established relationships with our witnesses from very early on. So that if anyone tried to reach them, they would know how to contact us, they would feel that they could reach out to us and tell us and tell us what was going on. We kept our investigating officer on lockdown, absolute lockdown. And I will tell you, without giving you any details that I made some - I think - reasonable, and unreasonable demands of the Commissioner of Police to ensure that I insulate my case, and to his credit, he agreed to all of them, reasonable, and unreasonable."

And according to the DPP, Pastor Lue's family was very supportive of her efforts, which aided her to persevere through this difficult 7-month trial. Here's how she explained why:

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, SC
"I was first concerned about the reaction of the family in relation to the verdict. Mrs. Thisbe Usher, she is an absolutely remarkable woman. And I think a lot of the support that I got, in this case, assisted to keep me focused, as I was in the trial. And a lot of that support came from Thisbe, her brother, and other members of the family. Thisbe came to court when she could have. Her brother came when she could not, but we communicated regularly. The day before the verdict, we were communicating, and she said, okay, see you tomorrow. And I said, Thisbe, you seem very upbeat, I'm going out of my mind. And she said, why? And I said because I don't know. She said, what is wrong with you? God is in control. And I responded, yes, but. And she said, yes, but what?"

Tune in to tomorrow's newscast, when we'll have a bit more from the Director, in which she discusses how cases that appear solid can be thrown out or lost simply because prosecution witnesses refuse to cooperate with her office.