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Septuagenarian dies 2 weeks after being shot

GeneralSeptuagenarian dies 2 weeks after being shot

While details have so far been sketchy, Amandala understands that an elderly man who was one of the unfortunate victims of an indiscriminate shooting that took place in the Kings Park area of Belize City on Thursday, July 10, sadly passed away this morning, although we have not been able to ascertain if it was a direct result of the gunshot injury that he received.

Today, Erla Slusher, a family friend, visited our offices and informed us that Godfrey Jones, 73, also known as “Pa Smurf”, was found lying motionless in his bed at about 8:00 a.m. today by her nephew, with whom he had been staying, on Lizarraga Avenue in Belize City.

released too early
KHMH is Belize’s national referral hospital

Slusher told us that when she went to the house, Jones was seen lying on his side in a crouched position, already stiff, which suggests that he may have died in his sleep sometime during the wee hours of this morning.

Slusher – who is a former nurse – mentioned that while checking the body she observed that Jones’ right leg – in which he had been shot – looked unusual because it seemed to have been infected, since his skin around the wound looked “gangrenous”, and appeared to be darker and more crusted than normal, almost as if he had been burned, while his pinky toe had rotted to the point where it was literally hanging by a thread.

At that point, she stated, both the police and the paramedics were called, but none of them were willing to transport Jones to the hospital, since the police officers who responded suggested that it was the job of the Crimes Investigations Branch (CIB) to deal with the matter, since the elderly man was already presumed dead.

As a result, Slusher and her nephew had to wait until CIB officers arrived in order for the body to be taken to the hospital so that he could be pronounced dead before being placed in the morgue.

Slusher explained that although she is not related to Jones, she had known him for a long time and she is appalled at the way in which he was treated by hospital personnel after he had suffered his injuries.

She said that Jones was relatively healthy before he was shot, but ever since he was released from the hospital, he had been suffering from complications due to his wounds.When Jones was discharged, Slusher told us, he was taken back to the house where he stayed on Lizarraga Avenue, since he does not have any known family members living in Belize.

House where Godfrey Jones was shot

From that point, she related, she and her nephew had been doing their best to take care of Jones, and even bought him a wheelchair and a walker to assist him to recuperate; however, she believes that he was probably discharged too early from the hospital, which led to the apparent infection that he had contracted in the area of his wound.

While some may view it as an unproven assertion, it is clear on the part of Jones’ caretakers that his death was directly linked to the injury he suffered as a result of the spiraling gun violence which has become so pervasive in Belize City.

According to Slusher, the most hurtful part of the ordeal was knowing that Jones was an innocent old man who had no family to turn to, and ended up being the victim of senseless gunmen while celebrating his golden years here on earth.

Godfrey Jones was shot in the right knee a little over two weeks ago as he socialized along with Darrell Mayen, 40, in front of Christopher Mayen’s (Darrell’s relative) Lizarraga Street home sometime around 8:45 p.m.

Mayen was also shot in his right leg, but was treated and later released from the hospital.

Police have still not apprehended the two persons who are allegedly responsible for the shooting, one of whom is said to be an individual of fair complexion who had a white shirt covering his face, while the other is of Creole descent.

Amandala attempted to contact Santiago Ciao, the CIB officer who is in charge of the case, to find out if the police will now treat the matter as a murder investigation; however, we were told that he was not in office this afternoon.

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