24.5 C
Belize City
Friday, March 29, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day

Photo: Students and staff of Stella Maris...

BPD awards 3 officers with Women Police of the Year

Photo: (l-r) Myrna Pena, Carmella Cacho, and...

Suicide on the rise!

Photo: Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator by Charles...

3 suicides in 4 days in the north

General3 suicides in 4 days in the north

There have been three deaths that have been classified by police as suicides — two in Orange Walk Town and one in Corozal. The victims all died by hanging themselves with a rope tied around their necks.

The three suicide victims are Frances Salam, 13, of Santa Rita, Corozal, a first form student of the Corozal Community College; Edwardo Pech, 36, a businessman of Stadium Street, Orange Walk Town; and Abel Garcia, 28, of Santa Familia Street, Orange Walk Town, who was a supervisor in a construction company.

The first to die was Frances Salam, who was declared dead about 4:30 Friday afternoon at her home in Santa Rita after she was found hanging by a rope tied around her neck, the other end being tied to a 2×4 beam in the ceiling of their shed. She was taken down by her father, Constable Sotero Salam of the Corozal Police Formation.

On arrival at the Corozal Hospital, she was declared dead on arrival by Dr. Angela Gilharry. There was no sign of violence on her body.

Constable Salam told police that on Friday evening, he and the rest of the family came home and began calling her name, but got no response. One of his daughters, 10, went to the shed behind the house and peeked in, and that was when she saw her sister hanging by the neck.

Constable Salam then made a forced entry into the shed, where he found his daughter hanging by a yellow and blue rope that was looped around her neck, and the other end was tied around a wooden beam in the shed. He took down his daughter, and police, who went to the scene after the incident was reported, found her lying face up on the floor of the shed with bruises on the neck consistent with those caused by a rope from hanging.

The family is devastated and at a loss for a reason why she would take her life.

The mother of Edwardo Pech, of Stadium Street, found him hanging by a rope tied around the neck at about 9:30 last night, Monday. The rope was tied to a 2×4 beam in the ceiling of a shed behind her store. She immediately called police, who took Pech to the Orange Walk Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

There were no signs of violence on his body, and foul play is not suspected.

Police say that at about 9:00 p.m., Pech came home after socializing with friends, and the family does not know why he committed suicide.

Less than two hours after Pech’s suicide, Abel Garcia, 28, of Santa Familia Street, also in Orange Walk, was found by his wife hanging by the neck under his house at about 11:00 last night, Monday. A belt was tied around his neck, and the other end was tied to a beam under the house.

Pech was taken to the Orange Walk (Northern Regional) Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Garcia’s wife reported that about 10:20 last night, they had a quarrel, after which he left the house.

Shortly after, she went downstairs of the house to check for him, and found him hanging underneath the house. He was already dead. The wife is at a loss as to why he took his own life.

Check out our other content

World Down Syndrome Day

Suicide on the rise!

Check out other tags:

International