BELIZE CITY, Wed. Dec. 22, 2021– Five years ago, the residents of Mahogany Heights were shocked by the gruesome murder of Jasmine Petillo, whose body was discovered in the early hours of the morning. Petillo had been found with more than fifty stab wounds across her body, and her body had been discarded in a ditch not far from her home. Investigations would later reveal that the murder of Petillo had been orchestrated in retaliation for the ambush and murder of Desmond Usher, which had taken place the year before. In a similar fashion, Petillo was lured to a friend’s house for a sleepover and was subsequently attacked in the middle of the night and murdered.

At the time of her death in 2016, Petillo’s family had been devastated by the loss of their loved one, and the seemingly sinister sequence of events that led to her violent death, and they are now reliving some of that trauma after finding out that the woman on remand for Jasmine’s murder has been granted bail.

Shereema Neal, who is eight-months pregnant, appeared in court on December 17 to face charges for her alleged involvement in Jasmine’s death and was denied a plea. The judge placed her on remand, and she was to have remained on remand until her trial; however, last week it was revealed that the twenty-six-year-old expecting mother was released on bail, in light of the fact that she will soon give birth.

Neal’s case is unique in that the court rarely approves bail for persons charged with murder offenses. Additionally, the evidence which points to her involvement in the brutal crime is considerable. Police had conducted extensive investigations which led to the discovery of the location at which Petillo’s murder occurred, as well as blood samples and bloodied clothes which would later be tested for DNA. The results of those tests would point to Neal as a perpetrator who had been romantically involved with Desmond Usher.

There has been public outcry from several members of the Petillo family in the wake of the announcement that Neal was being released. Neal remains out of prison and is not expected to reappear in court until February of 2022.