_{Photo: Jared Ranguy, sentenced}

Convicted murderer, 37-year-old Jared Ranguy received a triple life-sentence for killing his mother, stepfather, and sister in 2012. He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.

by Charles Gladden and Roy Davis (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Tues. July 16, 2024

Twelve years after committing the vicious triple-murder in Ladyville of Robert Vellos, 75; his wife, Karen Vellos, 48; and Karen’s daughter, Teena Beth Skeen, 32, Jared Ranguy, 37, met his fate at the Supreme Court today, Tuesday, July 16, when he was given three life sentences.

“We’re feeling emotional, relieved, and grateful that this long journey is finally over and justice has been served,” said Krystal Holder Skeen, a spokesperson for the Skeen and Vellos families. “The loss of our loved ones was immense. It was profound because we’re such a close family; and so it was shocking; it was truly a tragedy. We have been coming here to these court sessions for 12 years, and some of the family behind me have been at every court session. So, we are relieved. However, the sentence does not take away the deep pain that we feel, and that we will continue to feel probably for the rest of our lives. The absence of Aunt Karen, Teena, and Mr. Robert is felt every day, and they are dearly missed; but we are grateful for this closure,” Holder added.

Ranguy, who on March 15 of this year had finally pleaded guilty to 3 counts of murder, was given 3 life sentences today by Justice Nigel Pilgrim, who stipulated that the sentences are to run concurrently, which means that Ranguy will only serve one life sentence. Justice Pilgrim also stipulated that Ranguy is to serve 37 years in prison, commencing November 27, 2012, before he would be eligible for parole. Since 12 years of that sentence was already served while Ranguy was on remand, he must spend 25 years in prison before parole eligibility.

“We sought to persuade the judge to give a fixed term sentence opposing a life sentence. With a life sentence, you have to serve a minimum number of years before you can become eligible for parole; but you only become eligible, which would be at the discretion of the Parole Board. We would have preferred a fixed sentence, which means it’s fixed, and once you’ve done a certain amount of time, you would be free,” Ranguy’s attorney, Godfrey Smith, explained.

Before sentencing, Smith had asked the court to consider the possibility that Ranguy could have been sleepwalking when he committed the crime, that there is supported literature on it, and that the court should consider that factor in its arrival at an appropriate sentence. However, the court was not convinced.

“One of the main things we relied on was the forensic psychiatric report of a United Kingdom forensic psychiatrist and a sleep specialist. Unfortunately, those reports could not be conclusive without having hooked up Mr. Ranguy to a sleep machine, and sleep study machines in the prison … the cost was too prohibitive. We couldn’t go that far, and as a result, the experts could only go so far as to say ‘non-rem parasomnia’ — in common parlance, sleepwalking could not be ruled out; that what they observed and what they gathered from Mr. Ranguy was consistent with that, but absent corroboration from other persons, they could not be conclusive about it. The judge carefully considered it, and found that without corroboration, he was not prepared to accept it,” said Smith.

The triple murder, which occurred at about 3:00 a.m. on November 25, 2012, at the Vellos’ family home, located on Marage Road in Ladyville, was reportedly committed sometime after an argument ensued between Ranguy and Robert Vellos when Ranguy demanded money that Vellos had won at the casino that day.

Shortly after, the sound of gunshots was heard in the area, and when police arrived at the house, they saw Ranguy with a machete in his hand and he was screaming. They then searched the attic of the home and found a black bag that contained a 9-millimeter pistol with one round of ammunition, a knife with an orange handle and a pair of black trousers — all of which had blood on them.

The evidence indicated that Ranguy went into the room of his mother and stepfather, and he shot his stepfather, Robert Vellos, twice, killing him. He then went to where his mother, Abbidale Skeen, was sleeping, and he stabbed her 23 times, 8 times in her neck. Then, he fatally shot his sister, Teena Skeen.

In speaking with the media, Smith highlighted that his client didn’t need to apologize to the family, but did so in an affidavit which was accepted by the judge. However, Holder told the media that it would have been better if he had apologized to them directly.

“I think it would have been better if he had spoken to us and apologized. I think that would have meant much more. We are grateful that he pled guilty, and that today is the last day that we have to be here, and that this is over … We want to be at peace, and we hope that today our family members can finally sleep in peace,” she said.

Over the ten years since Ranguy’s initial court appearance, he changed his attorney numerous times. Prior to Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, a total of about five lawyers had represented Ranguy at some point during his trial, including Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson, Leslie Mendez and Hector Guerra; at one point he even wanted to represent himself in court, which is not permissible for murder cases.

The Crown was represented by Crown Counsel Riis Cattouse.