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Darrel Grant, 24, found guilty of woman’s vicious hammer murder

GeneralDarrel Grant, 24, found guilty of woman’s vicious hammer murder
A unanimous verdict for Darrel Grant, 24, was read in the courtroom of Justice Adolph Lucas today; the 12-person jury consisting of 8 women and 4 men found Grant guilty of Sandra Ruiz’s brutal murder.
   
The jury, after hearing almost a 3-hour summary of the evidence— inclusive of comments by Justice Lucas as well as the witness statements and the summations of the prosecution, represented by senior crown counsel Yohhanhseh Cave, and of Grant’s court-appointed defense lawyer, Richard “Dickie” Bradley — retired into deliberations at 11:46 a.m.
   
The 12 jury members returned from deliberations at 4:03 p.m., at which point they announced that they had reached a “unanimous decision,” and stated that after reviewing all the evidence they had concluded that Grant was indeed “guilty” of Ruiz’s murder.
   
Ruiz, 39, a resident of #5664 Meighan Avenue, Kings Park, and a mother of 2 young girls, 6 and 12 years old, was viciously attacked inside of her own home as she and her daughters were watching television on Sunday, August 10, 2008, around 10:30 p.m.
   
Ruiz was in her bedroom along with her children when Grant entered her home.
   
Her 12-year-old daughter was luckily inside the family bathroom when she peeped out to find that a man was attacking her mother; she hid inside the bathroom until she felt safe enough to run out for help.
   
The 12-year-old ran to a neighbor’s home opposite her own residence, and the neighbor followed the little girl, who had been hysterical in her explanations of the events unfolding in her home.
   
When the neighbor reached the home, he noted in court that he saw a man of Creole descent exiting Ruiz’s home. The neighbor explained that the intruder ran to the back of Ruiz’s yard and jumped over the back fence. 
   
The neighbor discovered Ruiz lying in a pool of blood, “just breathing.”
   
Ruiz had been aggressively raped, and beaten with extreme force with a hammer by Grant; Dr. Mario Estradabran, who examined Ruiz’s body, detailed her injuries. 
   
Ruiz’s jawbone had been severely broken, her nose was broken, her skull was fractured, her brain was damaged, her right and left-side ribs were broken, and some teeth had been dislodged as well.
   
And, though the verbal description of the crime was horrific enough, the jurors were given the pictures of the crime scene and Ruiz’s injuries to view for themselves; Ruiz’s 6-year-old daughter was also attacked by Grant, who hammered her many times in the back and head; the minor had been in a coma, and after treatment was released on August 19, 2008.
   
Maria Del Carmen Ruiz, Ruiz’s mother, along with her husband and other children, exited the courtroom in a fragile and mute state.
   
“I now know that there is justice in Belize,” said Maria, as she struggled to contain her tears.
   
The Belizeans for Justice’s Yolanda Schakron and Joan Sutherland were also called upon by the Ruiz family for support.
   
“We Belizeans for Justice are here to support these families who have had these losses, and we will continue to be here; it gives me hope that the justice system will be improved, that we will get more resources for the policemen, better forensic investigation; in my case, in Christopher Galvez’s case, we never had anyone arrested, so it gives me hope for that,” said Schakron.
   
Grant, exiting the courtroom, in handcuffs, was clearly upset over the verdict. While being taken back to the court’s holding cell, he lunged at a journalist who was in the process of taking his picture, but was held back by officers.
   
Grant is expected back in court on Thursday, November 18, 2010, when mitigation pleas will be heard.

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