Police are investigating who shot to death George Rochester, Jr., 37, as he made his way to a party in Ladyville, Belize District, on Saturday, December 10, and why. He was shot twice — once under the right eye and once in the right rib cage area. He died on the spot.
According to the information we received, area residents heard around eight shots at the time of Rochester’s murder. The police told us that at approximately 9:50 p.m., they were called to the scene of the shooting, which was about one hundred yards in from the Northern Highway, on Quilter Avenue, Ladyville.
Police found Rochester already dead. Apparently, he had just gotten off a bus in Ladyville, coming from Belize City, and had walked approximately one hundred yards into the community when he was ambushed.
We spoke with Rochester’s father, George Rochester, Sr., who told us that his son had just left his residence in the city to attend a party in Ladyville. George, Sr., who is a resident of the United States, told us that he had only taken a ten-day trip to Belize to visit his son when this occurred.
George, Sr., was to return to the United States yesterday, Sunday, December 11. He told us that his son had been deported to Belize about five years ago, but that it was only because of his getting caught up in the wrong crowd.
George, Sr., told us that his son was making an effort to stay “on track,” and that he was self-employed as a fisherman. The Rochester family resides in the United States, with only a few cousins living in Belize. The family had been working on “filing” (submitting an application for residency) for George, Jr., who has five children, two in Belize and three in America.
George, Sr., said, “We came back to visit him. We came several times. He brought fish for us, lobster and so on. The last time I saw him was about an hour and a half before he was killed.”
George, Sr. said his son did not have any enemies in Belize, as far as he was aware. He also told us that as a father, he made sure his son didn’t need anything, providing him with money on a regular basis, despite the money he made from fishing.
The night before Rochester’s murder, Friday, December 9, he had received some money from his father. That money, along with other items in his wallet, was still in his pocket after he had been killed. George, Sr. told us that the only missing item was his son’s cell phone.
We learnt that apart from being a fisherman, Rochester was well-known around Belize as an aspiring musician/artist. According to his father, he had a few medals and pictures in his apartment from rap competitions in which he had recently taken part.
“He wrote hundreds of songs. When we looked at his stack of papers, folders, he was a prolific writer,” George, Sr. said. “It’s very hard because here you see a very healthy young man with no ailments, and within a matter of a couple of hours, you have death on your hands. But I am a trained fireman and an EMT [Emergency Medical Technician], and I am also a supervisor at my company, so I tend to be a bit strong and to be objective as to what’s happening, instead of just breaking down and being emotional. There will be time for emotions, but it’s hard to take,” George, Sr. said.
Rochester was the middle child of three children with the present wife of George, Sr., who has three other children from a previous marriage.
Police have since detained two persons in connection with the murder, but no arrests have been made so far.