by Charles Gladden

SAN IGNACIO TOWN, Cayo District, Mon. Sept. 26, 2022

Police have arrested and charged Christian Alexander Kelly, 22, a resident of Roman Catholic Street, San Ignacio Town, Cayo District for the fatal stabbing of Matthew Smith, 29, a resident of Plues Street in Belize City, who was killed after the Independence Day Citizens’ Parade in San Ignacio Town.

The Friday edition of the AMANDALA reported that sometime after 7:10 p.m., Smith was found lying on the ground with several stab wounds to his upper body at the corner of Savannah and Karen Streets and was immediately taken to the San Ignacio Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police investigations revealed that Smith had been involved in a fight with a group of men during an event at the Macal Park.

The altercation stemmed from a previous conflict in which the men had been involved on the night prior to Independence Day, and the fight resumed when the men who were involved in the altercation on the prior day encountered Smith and an associate of his at Macal Park.

In Monday’s media press briefing, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, communications director of the Belize Police Department, told local reporters that Kelly was detained with another suspect after the incident, and after he was questioned, he was charged with murder.