MAHOGANY HEIGHTS, Belize District, Thurs. Oct. 18, 2018– At about 2:00 Sunday morning, Noel Leal, Jr., 33, a car dealer of Ladyville, Belize District, was found slumped dead over the steering wheel of his Volkswagen van, which was parked on a road in Mahogany Heights.

Police said that Leal, the son of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Noel Leal, Sr., of the National Police Headquarters in Belmopan, had been shot in the back of the head. The bullet exited through his forehead and burst through the windshield of his vehicle.

During the regular police press briefing held Tuesday morning at the Raccoon Street Police Station, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Alejandro Cowo, said that shortly after Leal’s body was found they received a report from his family in Ladyville that his house on Scissors Street in Ladyville had been broken into and ransacked.

His family told police that they saw the backdoor of his house ajar, and went inside to check.

It is not known, however, what, if anything, had been stolen.

Leal was last seen in Belize City at about 9:00 Saturday night, said police.

ASP Cowo said that in June 2017 Noel Leal, Jr. was arrested and charged with drug trafficking of high-grade marijuana, and that police are looking at his connection with the underworld. The police are considering the possibility that the killer or killers were the persons who went to his house looking for cash or drugs.

They are also looking into the possibility that Leal had been gambling in the city and had won big money, and that that may have been the reason for his killing. Cowo said that they have not yet identified a suspect; the motive for the murder is unknown at this point. He noted that some men were detained and interviewed in connection with the incident, but were released due to insufficient evidence. So far, no arrests have been made.