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American retiree found dead in Sarteneja

CrimeAmerican retiree found dead in Sarteneja

Neighbours found him in his warehouse, shot to death

Late Friday afternoon, an American national who lives in the community of Sarteneja in the Corozal District was found dead in his warehouse, reportedly with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.

Police reports are that the decomposed body of Dennis Frank Waltz, 77, was discovered by villagers on Friday, March 28, after he went missing the day before and his motorcycle was subsequently found on the outskirts of the village sometime earlier in the day.

According to Corozal police, at about 4:46 p.m. last Friday, they visited the property of Waltz, a retired American. When they checked a concrete warehouse with zinc roofing, they found a man dressed in a pair of blue jean shorts, white socks and brown tennis shoes, lying motionless in a sitting position in a corner of the building, He had apparent gunshot wounds to the mouth, the right upper side of his chest and the top of his head.

Teofilo Rodriguez, 44, who is also a resident of Sarteneja, told police that he checked Waltz’s property after his motorcycle was found outside the village Friday morning. Villagers, however, sensed that something was wrong from the day before, on Thursday, March 27, when the victim could not be found at his residence.

They then formed a search party in the company of other villagers, and while in the vicinity of Waltz’s warehouse – which is located outside Sarteneja – they smelled an unusually rotten scent emanating from the warehouse.

The group of villagers forcibly gained entrance to the warehouse by prying open a door facing a southern direction, and they discovered the lifeless body of Waltz inside. They immediately called Corozal police after the discovery.

One of Waltz’s neighbors told Amandala that one of his female friends had come asking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

According to Waltz’s neighbor, they heard gunshots around 10:00 a.m. last Friday morning, but they thought nothing of it since hunters usually traverse the area and often discharge firearms while pursuing their prey.

A CPU ( a central processing unit for a personal computer) belonging to the deceased is in police custody as part of the investigation, and Corozal police said that they are currently looking for two persons of interest, who they believe can assist them in their investigation.

Sources in Corozal also mentioned that another American national who we understand is a neighbor of Waltz, was also missing, so today we tried to reach ASP Andrew Ramirez, the Officer in Charge of the Corozal police, to confirm those reports, but he was not available at the time.

Five months ago, in October of 2013, 57-year-old Canadian retiree, Patricia Lynn Nichiporowich, was viciously murdered in her home in Consejo Shores, which is also in Corozal.

In that incident– which remains unsolved – Nichiporowich, an indoor air quality specialist, was stabbed to death at the well-known real estate location, where international retirees often settle down, expecting to live peacefully.

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