While police have refused to explain to our newspaper why Ara has been charged, Amandala sources have informed that sometime this morning police picked up Ara, and later today while he was in police custody he gave them statement detailing his version of what happened.

Ara claimed that he was drinking with Elias Ayala at his home on Sunday. He left, and returned the following day at about 2:00 p.m. Elias was not there but his common-law-wife, Maria, was. When Elias returned home, he found Ara at his house. This made him upset, and he and Maria began arguing about it.

The argument cooled, however, and the two men, Elias Ayala and Alberto Ara, resumed drinking. While they were drinking Elias again began raising the issue of why Ara was at his home with his wife when he, Elias, was not there.

The argument ended up in violence. Ara allegedly pulled out a spear gun and fired it towards Elias, but hit Maria instead. Elias pulled his machete, but it fell to the ground when he and Ara got into a struggle. Ara picked up the machete and allegedly chopped Elias in the head.

The accused alleges that a lit candle fell over during the struggle and set the house afire. He told police that he managed to escape from the house before the fire got out of control.

All during the fight, the Ayalas? four children were asleep, and their parents were too hurt to help them, so they all perished in the blaze.

At the funeral, instead of 6 coffins there were only 2, because the remains were mostly bones. In the first coffin were the remains of the young couple – Elias Mayen Ayala, 28, and Maria Suchite, 22, who is believed to have been pregnant, and in the second coffin were the remains of their four children – Yanira Mayen, 7, Ervin Alexander Mayen Ayala, 5, Marco Antonio Mayen Ayala, 4, and Victor Mayen Ayala, 2.

A post-mortem conducted on the bodies certified that they died from calcinations – they were burned to death.

Early Tuesday morning at about 12:30 a.m. police and fire personnel had responded to the fire in Blackman Eddy and made the hideous discovery of the remains of 6 persons in the rubble. The house, which had no electricity, had been completely destroyed.

Police initially detained the Ayalas? neighbor, Roberto Pineda, age unknown, a watchman of the property on which the Ayala family had lived for just eight days, but yesterday evening he was released, said police.

According to police, Pineda, who lives about 300 yards away, told them that at approximately midnight he was awakened by the screams of the children. He looked through one of his windows and noticed that his neighbors? house was engulfed in flames. He said he called the police, and they came quickly.

Later the Fire Department ruled out some possibilities, such as candles or a fire hearth as the source of the combustion.

Today, two days after the deaths, the Fire Department is still unable to say exactly what caused the fire. The only thing they have reportedly established to date is that the fire started in the front of the house.

When Amandala visited the sad village of Blackman Eddy yesterday, we spoke with Elias? relatives. They discount Ara?s story, and told us that they strongly believe that Elias? death and that of his entire family may have been an act of revenge stemming from a misunderstanding he had had with a villager of Blackman Eddy eight days ago.

His younger brother, Joel Rodriguez, 19, who last saw Elias 4 months ago, told us that Elias had told his mother about the misunderstanding, allegedly over a bicycle.

The man wanted to fight, but Elias chose to walk away. Nevertheless, he was threatened by the man, said his brother. But what transpired between Elias and the man after the quarrel is uncertain, said relatives.

Amandala was unable to speak with Elias? mother, Gloria Ayala Rodriguez, because she was busy making funeral arrangements in San Ignacio.

Joel said his brother was no troublemaker, that he used to work as a mason and was a very humble father who worked hard to send his children to school.

Two of his four children were in primary school. Yanira and Ervin attended St. Vincent Primary School in Unitedville and were both in Infant 1.

Although Elias? family claims that Maria was pregnant, police say that the post-mortem that was conducted on Tuesday showed no evidence that she was carrying a baby at the time of her death.

The murder of the Ayala family has led police to presume that they may be dealing with a ?serial killer,? because of similar deaths that have occurred in the area.

The most recent incident occurred on June 3 of this year, when police recovered the charred remains of Fabian Oroman, Jr., 26, his common-law wife, Lucilla Diaz Hernandez, 22, and their 10-month-old son, Alexander Oroman Diaz. An investigation revealed that they were brutally hacked to death and their bodies set on fire on their beds. No one has been arrested as yet.

Then on Wednesday, May 25, 2005, John Casey, 67, was attacked in the very same house that the Oroman family occupied. He had been chopped many times with a machete. Police also have been unable to make an arrest in this case.

According to relatives of the Ayala family, they knew the Oroman family. Elias and Fabian were friends, said Joel. They had lived near each other in Ontario Village, said Joel, and they both knew John Casey.

Elias Mayen Ayala was born in Belize. He was the 3rdchild of 10 siblings. Maria Suchite was from Guatemala; her other particulars are unknown.