Crazed father used backhoe to kill child and his grandmother

BELZE CITY, Wed. Oct. 31, 2018– Shortly after 2:00 this morning, some residents in the Fabers Road area were awakened by the revving sound of a heavy piece of equipment moving through the neighborhood streets at high speed—and then there was a loud noise, as metal collided with concrete. The noise did not stop, as a backhoe continued in an early morning rampage, ripping through a house. Screams came from some of the residents at 6 Fabers Road. A young girl dashed out of the house, and the backhoe swung around, chasing her. The girl ran into a neighbor’s yard, screaming, then there was another crash as the backhoe slammed into a parked van after mowing down a portion of the wooden house into which the girl had run.

The screams of horrified people filled the area. A small boy lay dead in the rubble and a badly injured woman lay in the yard.

Gunfire then erupted from a damaged van that the backhoe driver had turned his attention to before he drove off, leaving destruction and death behind him.

Samuel August, 35, a Belize City Council backhoe operator, had just come off his 6 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. shift when something snapped in him, and instead of parking the City Council’s backhoe, he went on a deranged mission to even a score, he thought, with the grandmother of his children, who had been given custody of them the day before by the Belize City Family Court.

As a result of Samuel August’s early morning backhoe rampage, his son, Samir August, 5, was killed, and Louise Young, 53, August’s children’s grandmother, was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, fighting for her life. Unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being admitted.

Britney Craig, the 13-year-old girl whom August attempted to run over with the backhoe, was admitted to the KHMH in a critical condition.

August himself was also admitted to the hospital in a stable condition, although it was never revealed by authorities what are his injuries or how he sustained them. Police issued a report confirming that August has been hospitalized, but stopped short of saying exactly why the City Council backhoe operator had been hospitalized, though it is suspected that August was shot by the neighbor into whose house the 13-year-old girl had run (he has a licensed handgun), after August attempted to target him with the backhoe while he was inside his van, which sustained damage from the backhoe.

In their report on the incident, police said, “…about 2:10 a.m., police visited the Young’s residence, located at No.6 Fabers Road. Upon arrival, they observed a bungalow cement house with damages to the front portion. Officers also observed a male child lying motionless in debris, and he was bleeding from the head, and a female adult lying on the ground with injuries to the body…Police also observed the home of Carl Butler, situated next to the Young’s residence, with the front portion partially damaged, and a Nissan van, property of Atlantic Bank Limited, was also seen in the yard, with extensive damages.”

The police report continued, “Initial investigation revealed that about 2:07 a.m., Samuel August, Sr., 35, a Belizean backhoe operator, drove the backhoe into the Young’s residence, causing extensive structural damages; he allegedly thereafter drove the backhoe into Butler’s residence, where he caused damages to the house and vehicle.”

Police reported that a third structure had also been damaged. August fled the scene, but was later detained by police.

Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner, with some of his councilors and staff from City Hall, visited the scene of the carnage this morning for an assessment of the needs of the families who has been affected by August’s rampage.

When he was asked to share his views, Mayor Wagner said, “As a responsible Council, we will not shy away from that. It happened with one of our workers. It is obviously a huge tragedy. You can never prepare for something like this happening. As a family, as community, as City Council, you never prepare for something of this nature.”

Mayor Wagner added, “But certainly we are committed to being there for the family who lost loved ones.”

Mayor Wagner explained that the Belize City Council will bear the cost of the funeral expenses.

The Mayor was asked why August had the Council’s backhoe at that hour of the morning.

“We have shifts to take care of hot spots, and the individual was on the 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. shift,” he said.

While police reported that they are investigating the incident, they have not charged August with any offense yet. He is in the hospital under police guard.

We have learned through a police source that August may be admitted into the psychiatric ward in Belmopan. In that case, police would be hard pressed to charge him and bring him into the criminal justice system.

August, who uses the name “Trey Willis” on his Facebook page, issued an apology saying, “I, Trey Willis, apologize to all my friends and family. I am as devastated as everyone. I would never hurt my kids … I can’t forgive myself … Please understand what is depression and having your kids taken away from you … I was drugged and intoxicated. I found out what happened [in the] daylight.”