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Those injuries were fatal, and now, the alleged assailant's family is demanding that the authorities prosecute Minister Marin for unjustifiable use of deadly force and harm. 7News was in Corozal Town looking for answers today, and Daniel Ortiz has that story:

The body of 37-year-old Arkel Matura was found here in this bush open lot next door to the Corozal home of Health Minister Pablo Marin.

Marin reported police that at around 10:29 last night, he was inside the upper flat of his house when he heard a loud noise downstairs. He went to investigate if there was an intruder on his property, and that's when he reportedly saw a man, later identified as Matura, on his verandah. They came face-to-face in the darkness of the night.

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"Mr. Marin reported that he was at home on the upper flat of his residence when he was alerted to a sound coming from downstairs. He then went to the second floor, and the noise became louder. That took him to the first floor. When he got to the first floor, he observed that the burglar bar was removed from one of the windows, and some louvers were missing. He went outside around the building, and when he came back inside on the verandah, he was accosted by a lone individual, who was brandishing a knife. Mr. Marin said that he ordered the person to put down the knife, and the person charged at him. He fired 1 shot to warn the person, and when he did that the person turned around and stooped down as if he was going to do something. He subsequently fired 2 more shots. After having done so, the person got up and jumped over the fence, which is about 8 feet in height, and he may have landed on some concrete that is on the other side of the fence. Police were called, the body of the individual was found right across the fence of Mr. Marin's yard. Police also found a knife beside the fence, inside Mr. Marin's yard. And so, based on that, Mr. Marin was taken into custody. He was interviewed and subsequently released, pending further directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions."

The cops say they found a backpack on Matura, which was loaded with an assortment of items belonging to Marin.

We also saw signs of a break-in on the Minister's Property. There was this part of a fence that attaches to his. It was bent as if an adult stood on it to climb up high. Then, there is a gap in the barbed wire on top of Marin's concrete fence, which appears as though someone created enough space to safely cross over. Finally, we saw a broken window on the lower flat of the minister's house.

If the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions accept Marin's explanation, then Matura's fatal shooting may be ruled as justifiable use of lethal force to protect life and property. But, the sister of the deceased is demanding that the authorities criminally prosecute the Minister.

Voice of: Julie Matura - Sister of the Deceased
"I would want justice for my brother because this was an injustice. He was a good person. I feel like the good people pay for the bad. I just beg the good Lord to let us have justice one of these days because my brother was a good person. All I know is that he was like that because he was on drugs."

Reporter
"As far as you know, did that make him a violent person?"

Voice of: Julie Matura
"No, he was not violent, even though he was on the drug addiction. He never meets people on the road, grabbed something out of their hands, or held a knife to their throat. He is not that person. I don't know him as that person."

Julie Matura acknowledges that her brother, Arkel Matura, spent time in jail in Mexico, that he has been struggling with drug addiction, and that he has engaged petty theft in the past. She disbelieves, however, that Arkel broke into the Minister's house, or that he acted in a violent or threatening manner toward the minister.

Voice of: Julie Matura - Sister of the Deceased
"My brother, he was just left on the street like a stray because he didn't have a resting place, a house. He was left on an addiction after my mother and fathered died. He stayed on drugs. I was trying to get him help, but the people who I was going to were not paying me any mind. Nobody was listening to me, and it is only me who is going all-out in this family."

"My brother, yes, I said he was on drugs. He would go and take a little something out of people's yard, but he will not break into your house, to say go into your house. He will not do that. I don't know him like that. He wasn't any robber."

Reporter
"Ma'am, we've been on the scene, and there is clear evidence that broke into the minister's house. The Minister - as far as we are understanding. We haven't spoken to him personally, but, the best reports we've received is him telling police that your brother broke into his house."

Voice of: Julie Matura
"That is what he will say because he is the minister, and the Minister will win."

Chester Williams
"I would hope that people do not look at this as Mr. Marin, a politician, but as Mr. Marin, a citizen of this country. He is entitled to the same rights as any other person in these present circumstances, and so, from a policing standpoint, that is how we are looking at it. He has given side of the story, and it is corroborated by what police found on the scene. And so, we're putting it before the DPP, and then, the DPP is going to decide on the matter."

"If it is that Mr. Marin's actions are deemed to be unjustified by law, that will be determined by the DPP. Then it goes to the court, and we see how we go from there."