Daniel Marvin Hughes Sr., murdered on Tibruce Street
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 27, 2018– At about 4:30 yesterday evening, Boxing Day, Daniel Marvin Hughes Sr., 58, a laborer of Aloe Vera Street, Belize City, was driving his vehicle down Tibruce Street towards Haulover Creek, when two gunmen came out of the bushes in an abandoned lot and one of them fired shots that hit him in the side of his head and his neck. Hughes was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Hughes girlfriend, who was beside him in the vehicle, was not hurt in the incident.
During the weekly police press brief held this morning at the Raccoon Street Police Station, ASP Alejandro Cowo said that the scene was processed and several expended 9mm shells and also a 9mm pistol loaded with 8 live rounds were recovered from the scene. It is not yet known whether the gun belonged to Hughes or if it had been abandoned by the killers. It will be sent to the National Forensic Science lab for test firing to determine whether it had been used in the shooting, ASP Cowo said. He said that so far no one has been arrested for Hughes’ murder.
Cowo said they believe that the shooting is due to an ongoing feud between two families in the area and the death of Hughes brings the death toll of the family rivalry to five. Cowo said that people saw what happened and he is calling on those who witnessed the incident to step forward to help police with the investigation so that arrests can be made and the ongoing problem put to an end.
The feud has been ongoing since 2013, after two young boys got into a fight over a stolen outboard engine. That fight escalated to a blood feud between the families of the two boys, and has resulted in the deaths of Bernadine Lauriano, 56; Teresita Flowers, 64; Delcia Blanco, 17; Lauriano’s relative, Justine Orellana, 28; and now Daniel Marvin Hughes, a son-in-law of Teresita Flowers.
The violence began with the brutal murder of sanitation worker Bernadine Lauriano, of Aloe Vera Street, at about 8:30 on the evening of Friday, March 9. She was shot 6 times in the chest and abdomen, while in her sofa, by someone known to her who invaded her yard and went into her house. At the time, Bernadine was with her 9-year-old daughter, who was shot in her arm and foot, and her 20-year-old son, Denzil, who is physically and mentally handicapped. He was shot in the leg.
Police detained a person of interest in this incident, but he was released due to insufficient evidence.
One week after the vicious death of Lauriano, Teresita Flowers, 64, a mother of 8 children, was in her house on TIbruce Street with her daughter, Andrea Tucker; Delcia Blanco, 17, who was visiting her; Blanco’s friend, Shaniqua Requeña, 16, and Tucker’s 9-year-old niece. It was about 7:00 in the evening and they were sitting around a table having supper when a family friend who was in the yard ran into the house and shouted, “gunman!” and then ran to safety through the backyard.
Delcia Blanco tried to lock the door, but the gunman forced it open and shot her in the forehead, killing her instantly. Tucker’s niece escaped injury by hiding under a bed. Requeña was shot in the arm, but she managed to escape death by also hiding under a bed. Flowers was shot in the back and buttocks and fell on the floor. She died almost immediately.
One week after the murder of Flowers and Blanco, Justin Emmanuel Orellana, a relative of Bernadine Lauriano, was found dead inside his home in Lords Bank, Ladyville, by a family member. Orellana was believed to be asleep when his killer managed to gain entry into his house and shot him in his head.
There seems to be no end to the feud in sight but ASP Cowo said that they will make all efforts to bring it to a conclusion. Cowo said that DCP Chester Williams will bring the two families together and have a talk with them. DCP Williams added that all will be done to arrest the killer of Hughes. He said that this is necessary to send a message that such cruelty will not be tolerated, and give the grieving families some justice.