7 News Belize

The Cruel Killing of A Property Manager
posted (January 8, 2020)
Last night we showed you the mangled body of a 46-year-old Mexican national, Gabriel Alejandro Guzman.

Guzman, a property manager at Hannah's Paradise located on the outskirts of Seine Bight was brutally killed yesterday afternoon.

Cherisse Halsall travelled to Seine Bight today to find out more. Here's her story.

The Villages of Seine Bight and neighbouring Placencia are breathtakingly beautiful, even on a cloudy day,

but yesterday a callous and cruel murder shocked residents and visitors to this idyllic peninsula.

Cherisse Halsall, reporter
"This is the House where 46-year-old Gabriel Alejandro Guzman Cruz was tortured and murdered. Eyewitnesses said that they saw smoke coming from over there, followed by Mr. Cruz rolling down the verandah trying to grip on, falling all the way down the stairs, attempting to wash his face, before finally collapsing here at the end of the stairs."

That's where another man came to his aid. We spoke to that man today. He is afraid to reveal his identity, but he told us that Guzman struggled to utter his last words.

Voice of: Eyewitness
"All he told me, he told me that it was two dark guys that did it to him."

They ran off - leaving Guzman on a burning bed.

But he was brave in his final moments and attempted to save himself from the cruel end his assailants had designed for him.

He crawled outside the house, and the bloody path he made across the verandah shows some of what he went through.

One look at the trail of blood, and you realize that he was not so much murdered as slaughtered. They eyewitness recalls the horror of his injuries:

Voice of: Eyewitness
"He was full of blood, blood gushing out from his jaw because they chopped him from his ears all the way through and through his jaw. The top and bottom jaw teeth were out I could see two of his teeth hooked up on his shirt."

Cherisse Halsall:
"So it seems that he was tortured?"

Voice of: Eyewitness
"Yes ma'am because he was tied around the neck."

And when Police arrived they found the violent scene complete with a machete, two knives, and the mattress on fire.

Later that day police searched a home in Seine Bight and found items stolen form the house. The occupants of the home, as well as one other person, have since been detained.

But, what was all the cruelty for? Police say it was just a robbery by a lawless group, including a minor:

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"From what I have been briefed is that it might have been a case of robbery where the victim was at the home and two persons went there, I think a father and a son or two brothers, and they stole certain things from the house. We have in custody one person at this time. We have recovered some of the items stolen from the house and we are looking for a 15-year-old whom we also believe can assist us with that investigation."

While police expect to make arrests shortly, for the community, the wanton cruelty is still incomprehensible

Voice of: Eyewitness
"I think these guys are just out of hand and they should put a steeper law because they are taking people's lives. Like people don't value anything and the only person could take someone life is God because he is the one that gives life."

We'll keep following the case to let you know when charges are brought.

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