A US Citizen with Belizean roots was murdered in the early hours of Sunday morning. 34-year-old Christon Logan was in Mango Creek visiting his family after he planned a week long trip. But he only made it through 3 days before he was gunned down in Bella Vista. According to witnesses, the killer was ruthless, shooting Logan over ten times as he lay defenseless on the ground. Now his family wants to know what he did to deserve such a callous death. Courtney Menzies travelled south to speak with them today and has this story.
34-year-old Christon Logan came to Belize on Friday to check on this construction site. It's a restaurant on the corner of Disco and Sunrise streets in Mango Creek that he was building for his sister - to be named Zariah's, after his 1 month old daughter.
But he'll never see its completion because on Sunday morning, around 3, he was shot dead, allegedly by 39-year-old Cornelio Martinez, outside of Heart Beatz Nightclub in Bella Vista.
According to his older sister, she had already brought him home from the club, but someone else came to take him back out - and that's when a weekend visit home became his last.
Cindy Logan, Sister of Deceased
"That shocked me because me, Cindy Logan, his older sister, I personally took him home cause it was him and I who came here together. I made sure. My brother reached home, reached on his top step. Three friends came along and brought him back here. Next like half hour after that, I got the news that they shot up my brother, my brother died at the same spot that I just brought him from, from Heart Beatz. You know how that made me feel?"
"From what I understand and from what everybody is saying, the dance was over, everybody was coming out and I don't know if my brother hit the guy's brother's shoulder but by the time everybody got outside, that's when the guy was there and my brother was here and he shot my brother in his foot. When my brother fell, he got over him and finished him down there."
Logan had only been in the country for three days before he was killed. Since he was born in the US, he left Belize in 2017 to start a new life. And now, his focus was on his family in Mango Creek, and his daughter in California.
Classique Linarez, Sister of Deceased
"He is an American, he work with Tesla, he works extra at a store in the States. All his day offs, he's working, because we just lost our dad, and he's our breadwinner. So when they did that to us, they hurt us."
"He just had baby, Zariah Logan, that's his happiness. Everything for him is his daughter. He said, sis, I'm coming to Belize, and all I want for Christmas is to get my baby a gold bracelet with her name. That's all."
Now the little girl, who turned one month on the day of her father's death, will have to grow up without him.
And while the family is trying to put together the pieces, they say that on top of his murder, thousands of dollars are missing from his wallet.
Classique Linarez, Sister of Deceased
"What hurt me, my brother works so hard and my brother left from home, he wasn't drunk or anything. I know what my brother had. I have his wallet, I got it from the young man, my brother had over $1000 US."
"This pocket of his wallet and when I reached, what hurt me more, this is what I found in my brother's wallet, 47 Belize dollars and a Cornelio Martinez card. Now this driver that picked up my brother, came and brought him to the club and did whatever they did, this is the same driver who gave me the wallet. [00:08:53.26] so now my question is, if this Cornelio Martinez killed my brother, what is his card doing in my brother's wallet?"
And they're hoping the card can possibly lead to an arrest, because they say that they won't let this go without getting justice.
Classique Linarez, Sister of Deceased
"We want to leave this in God's hands and we need justice, my brother doesn't deserve to go the way he went and God doesn't sleep. I kneel down and I prayed to ask God to please be with my family in this time because I know the anger in everybody. We pray for them."
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