The body of Sherlock Syfox, 23, a Belizean laborer and recent deportee from the United States of America, was found around 6:00 a.m., on Sunday, September 26, 2010, dead and floating in the water behind the Bellevue Bar on Southern Foreshore, wearing only black shorts; his cause of death has not yet been reported, as the post-mortem results have still not been released.
The police confirmed that Syfox was last seen alive on Friday, September 24, 2010, at the Tipsy Corner Bar, located at the corner of Freetown Road and Douglas Jones Street.
Amandala has since spoken to a friend of Syfox, Arrilon Young, 31, of Belize City, who claims that they [he and Syfox] were both out celebrating his [Young’s] birthday when at the Tipsy Corner Bar, Syfox was involved in an altercation, allegedly with a Hispanic girl, an employee at the bar, who accused Syfox of stealing her phone.
Amandala also spoke to Syfox’s aunt and guardian, Lenina Bennett, 43, of Belize City, who expressed her disgust over the accusations against her nephew, explaining that he was not in need of anything, and did not need to steal.
Young explained that he and Syfox were celebrating his birthday at three different bars throughout the night, Friday, September 24, 2010, starting from around 6:00 p.m.
“The last time I saw Sherlock was when we were both drinking and got really high; we ended up at Tipsy Corner [bar],” Young said.
According to Young, he [Young] was inside of the bar around 11:00 p.m., when he noticed that Syfox was involved in an altercation with a young Hispanic woman, an employee of the bar.
“Well, I didn’t really hear anything, but when I went outside, someone told me that he ran that way [in the direction of Lee Chee]; I saw the girl [Hispanic girl] pointing [in the same direction in which Syfox was allegedly running], and she jumped into a small dark car [she was the driver] with a Spanish guy, and they were driving in the same direction,” said Young.
Young said that he does believe that there was foul play involved in his friend’s death, because as far as he knew, Syfox was wearing three-quarter jeans pants, a button-down maroon shirt, and slippers on that night.
Syfox’s family was heading home from church when they heard that it was possibly Syfox’s body that was found floating in the sea.
Bennett explained that because she had only just seen her nephew the Friday, she was shocked when the information reached her about his death.
Bennett said it wasn’t a surprise that Syfox was not seen for a day, because he used to sleep over at his girlfriend’s home at times.
Bennett identified her nephew’s body by a scar he had on his chest, “When the police man told me that [about the scar], well, I broke right down, because that is my nephew [Syfox].”
“The last time I saw him was on Friday evening [September 24] when he was coming from work; I would have never believed what I would see that Sunday morning,” Bennett said.
Syfox, his aunt explained, was not deported from the USA due to any type of criminality, but rather only because he was there illegally from the tender age of 7.
“I used to explain to Sherlock that Belize is different from America; since the 10 months that he was here [since November 2009], I did not know him to be getting into any trouble or have problems with anyone. He had his girlfriend, where he used to always stay at her home sometimes,” said Bennett.
Bennett explained that Young had told her yesterday morning, Sunday, whilst they were awaiting the arrival of the body at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, that when they [he and Syfox] were out at the bar, they were having fun.
Bennett adamantly refutes the accusations about Syfox having anything to do with a missing phone, because Syfox’s mother had always been supporting her son, sending him money through Western Union. She claims that he had no need to steal, and was not that type of person.
“He didn’t have to steal anything from anybody, so if that is what they are saying, then they are lying; they are lying!! That I know for a fact!” she said.
Up until press time tonight, the autopsy report has not been released, and police are still conducting their investigations.
Bennett told us that her nephew was an excellent swimmer, and furthermore, that they have not located his personal items, such as his wallet and clothing.