ST. MARGARET, Cayo District, Thurs. Feb. 11, 2016 –Less than 12 hours after Pedro Menjivar Murcio, 30, a farmer of St. Margaret, was involved in an argument with a man after his bicycle had been stolen from a bar on the Hummingbird Highway, Murcio was found unconscious, with severe injuries to his head, in an orange orchard between Miles 15 and 16 on the Hummingbird Highway in Alta Vista.
He was discovered at about 6:45 on the morning of Friday, January 29, and was taken to the Southern Regional Hospital, after which he was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in Belize City. He fought for his life for eight days in the intensive care unit of the KHMH until Saturday morning, February 6, when he died.
On Monday, February 8, a postmortem exam was conducted on Murcio’s body at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital by Dr. Mario Estradabran. At the conclusion of the autopsy, he declared that Murcio’s death was the result of “acute respiratory failure, bilateral severe broncho-pneumonia,comatose state and blunt force traumatic injuries to the head region.”
Police say that on the night of Thursday, January 28, Murcio was socializing at the Finas Bar with friends when someone stole his bicycle. He got into an argument with a man in the bar about the bicycle, and the bar owner intervened and asked Murcio to leave.
Murcio left, but that Friday was found in the orchard, with severe head injuries. Police are investigating, but so far, no one has been arrested or charged for Murcio’s death.
Anyone who has information that can help police in solving this case is urged to contact Dangriga police or the nearest police station, or call 911 or 0800-922-TIPS.