BELIZE CITY, Mon. June 10, 2019– Late yesterday, police announced that they have charged two men from Mahogany Heights with the brutal triple murder that occurred sometime last Tuesday, June 4, at Mile 10 ½ on the George Price Highway, where the bodies of two women and a man were discovered with gunshot injuries to their heads, and with their hands bound behind their backs.
This afternoon, Kyle Zetina, 24, and Shawn Flores, 18, appeared before Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer and were arraigned on 3 counts of murder.
Police charged the two men with the murder of Alarice Andrewin, 44, the principal of Excelsior High School; Vidal Antonio Yuman Cacho, 39, and Maria Delfina Juarez Lucas, 19, both Guatemalan nationals.
No plea was taken from the two accused men and Chief Magistrate Fraser explained to them that murder is an indictable offense and can only be tried at the Supreme Court.
Zetina and Flores were remanded to the Belize Central Prison; they are due to return to court on July 29.
Today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told the media that the investigation is still open and that the men made some mistakes and the Police Department were able to capitalize on those mistakes.
Williams also said that Principal Andrewin was shot twice in the head and the police know why she was shot twice, but that they will not reveal that information to the public.
In addition, Williams said, a firearm was recovered from the accused men and it will be sent to the National Forensic Sciences lab for testing to determine if it was the gun that was used in committing the very disturbing murders.
Commissioner Williams also said that Andrewin’s family was briefed on the police’s progress so far in the investigation, and that the family will be kept updated.
Supt. Hilberto Romero said this morning that the investigation into the shocking crime continues because Andrewin’s SUV has not yet been found. The vehicle was last seen in Cayo, he said.
Supt. Romero, now the Head of National Crimes Investigations, said that there was no forced entry into Andrewin’s house.
A suggestion was made to Romero that Andrewin was to testify in a hearing before the Teaching Services Commission in the investigation of misappropriation of funds, in connection with the misuse of $172,000 belonging to Excelsior High School, and that may have been a motive to silence her.
Romero said that the testimony she would have provided to the Teaching Services Commission has nothing to do with the murders, and that robbery was the motive for the murders.
Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, said that they will not make arrests just to ensure impressive statistics; so if they do not have the evidence that can withstand the rigors of a court process, he will not order the police to make an arrest. He said that he is confident that they have the right men who committed the crimes, and that they will work closely with the Director of Public Prosecutions every step of the way to put a good case forward to bring the accused killers to justice.
On Tuesday, June 4, when Andrewin did not show up at school, police were asked to go to check and see that all was okay with her at her home. The reason her colleagues were especially concerned was that they had not been able to make contact with her, and her home had been burglarized just about a month ago.
When police arrived at Andrewin’s house at about 3:30 that Tuesday afternoon, they found that the front doors, one of wood and the other made of iron bars, were open, and when they entered the house, they noticed that the house had been ransacked.
When they went to Andrewin’s bedroom, they found a horrendous scene—three persons with their hands tied behind their backs, dead from gunshot wounds to their heads. The bodies of Andrewin and Cacho were found on a bed in the room, and Lucas’ body was on the floor.
Police identified the murdered persons as Alarice Andrewin and two Guatemalan nationals, Vidal Antonio Yuman Cacho, 39, and Maria Delfina Juarez Lucas.
On Thursday, after a post-mortem exam was conducted on Andrewin’s body, the cause of her death was certified to be hypervolemic shock, external exsanguination, laceration of left common carotic artery, and multiple penetrating gunshot wounds to the face.
The post-mortem exam conducted on the body of Cacho, a naturalized Belizean of Kut Avenue, Belize City, revealed that Cacho’s death was caused by acute craneoencephalic traumatic lupine single performing gunshot wound to the head.
The post-mortem exam conducted on the body of Lucas, also of Kut Avenue, Belize City, revealed that her death was caused by acute craneoencephalic traumatic injuries due a single gunshot wound to the head.
Police said that 4 bullet cases were found on the scene.
Lucas’ uncle told Love FM News that his niece did not have any enemies. She was babysitting for her other uncle in Guatemala, but decided that she would come to Belize to be with her boyfriend, Cacho, and to look for a job. He said that she and her boyfriend were living in the house with Andrewin.
Last night, Excelsior High School held a candlelight vigil at the Memorial Park in the memory of their fallen principal, Alarice Andrewin. The school’s vice principal said that the school will never forget Principal Alarice Andrewin.