Herbert then called his older brother and his stepfather to help him get inside. After peering through several windows and being unable to ascertain what was happening inside the quiet house, Herbert?s stepfather, Randolph Vernon, was able to pry open the locked door. Upon entering the house, they saw Chavez?s lifeless body hanging from the beam. They immediately cut her down and laid her on the floor.

The family explained to Amandala this morning that Chavez had undergone several surgeries over the past 15 years, including two for a hernia, one for gallstone, and another to remedy a blood clot. In fact, only last year Chavez had undergone surgery on both eyes, because she had a cataract in one and glaucoma in the other.

Chavez?s daughters, Bernadine and Lavern, explained that their mother has been living with unrelenting physical pain, and lately her physical torment seemed to be getting worse. Aside from going through menopause, Chavez was also trying to cope with insomnia.

Her daughters said that while their mother did not frequently complain about her physical condition, they knew she was in tremendous pain and her plethora of medication no longer seemed to be having the same degree of effectiveness.

Bernadine recalls that in August of last year, her mother tried to drown herself in the sea, near Newtown Barracks. Bernadine said that it was her son who had saved her that time. Chavez?s explanation to her family was that she was tired of the constant pain, pills and injections. Chavez had attempted suicide in August of 2002, as well.

The family asserts that after the last suicide attempt they had taken their mother to see a psychiatrist, but they were told that there was no apparent disorder.

Mary Chavez worked at the old Belize City Hospital as a domestic in the maternity ward for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2002.

Her family describes her as quiet and reserved, a woman with countless friends. She is survived by her two daughters, Bernadine Wiltshire and Lavern Meighan, two grandsons, Ashman and Herbert, and a host of relatives and friends.

A post-mortem conducted on the body at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital this afternoon determined that Chavez died from asphyxia due to hanging.