_{Photo: William “Danny” Mason}

by Roy Davis (freelance writer)

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 11, 2024

In a judgement 59 pages long that was given today, the Belize Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of William “Danny” Mason and four other appellants who were his employees. The others are Ernest Castillo, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez and his brother, Terrence Fernandez.

They, along with Mason, were convicted of the murder of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas in a judge-alone trial, and they were each sentenced to life imprisonment with individualized terms.

Their convictions and sentences were affirmed.

On June 19, 2017, they were charged with Pastor Lucas’ murder which occurred on July 15, 2016, at Mason’s farm, located between Miles 30 and 31 on the George Price Highway.

Lucas’ decapitated head was found by police in a bucket in the pan of Mason’s pickup truck that was parked at Sancho’s Bar in Belmopan. The police were investigating a robbery when they stumbled upon Lucas’ decapitated head.

All of the appellants were seen coming out of the vehicle.

Further investigation by the police led to the discovery of pieces of burnt bones in a pit at Mason’s farm. The police also retrieved telephone records and digital video recordings.

The Crown, represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lynn Vidal, called 30 witnesses to prove its case. The case for the Crown was based substantially on circumstantial evidence. The category of evidence included direct evidence leading up to the death of Pastor Lucas, electronic evidence, telephone records, video recordings from a surveillance camera, photographs and forensic evidence.

The telephone records showed that the phone calls and text messages were mainly between Lucas and Mason, and that on the day of the murder Mason invited Lucas to come to his house at Intelco Hill in Belmopan for some money.

Lucas’ went with two other men in a vehicle to Mason’s house and upon their arrival they were blindfolded, bound and gagged and they were taken to Mason’s farm. The two men who were with Lucas were released, and only Lucas was kept a prisoner by Mason.

Dr. Mario Estradabran, the pathologist, testified that he could not tell the cause of death because he did not have Lucas’ body to examine. He said he examined Lucas’ head which was found with duct tape on his eyes, nose and mouth, and he could not tell if Lucas was alive when his head was severed from his body.

Mason and Keiron Fernandez gave unsworn statements denying that they had anything to do with the murder. Mason called one witness to testify on his behalf. Keiron Fernandez did not call any witness. The other appellants chose to remain silent.

The Court of Appeal dismissed all of their grounds of appeal.

Castillo and the Fernandez brothers were represented by attorney Aaron Tillett. Vanegas was represented by attorney Norman Rodriguez, while Mason was represented by Senior Counsel Hubert Elrington.

The appeals were heard on March 21. All four, except for Mason, appealed their convictions and sentences. Mason only appealed his conviction.