BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 17, 2022– Five years ago, one of the most gruesome and disturbing murders in Belize’s history claimed the life of 18-year-old Keona Gabby Ara, a resident of Blackman Eddy, whose body was found burnt beyond recognition with a slit throat and multiple stab wounds to her back and abdomen at the Belmopan Dump Site on the outskirts of Belmopan on the Hummingbird Highway.
On March 11, 2017, Ara was allegedly killed in a home in Belmopan City, and it is alleged that her body was taken to the dumpsite by 27-year-old Jaime Patnett and 25-year-old Shaylon Santos, both of whom were residents of Teakettle Village. The two men were subsequently arrested and charged with the crime of murder. But earlier this year, on February 23, the duo were able to exit the Belmopan Supreme Court as free men after a not guilty verdict was delivered by Justice Francis Cumberbatch.
Shirley Mai, the mother of Keona Ara, has lamented to reporters that, although she was assured by police that the case against the men was a strong one, she had begun to feel unsettled as key pieces of evidence began to go missing.
“From the beginning, I was in that courtroom from the start to the end, and I knew the case was going somewhere where only God can bring it back, because the file they start to go missing. I went back to the police station. I spoke to the high-ranking officer, and I told him ‘this is what going on, this is what’s happening, this is what taking place’. .. But I was in the courtroom and I heard my statement went missing, my daughter’s statement went missing, like everything is going missing. So I knew from the beginning this case is not going to sit right,” said Mai.
She further stated, “Every time the case is being called, I heard something is going missing. I went back and told the high-ranking officer, who I trust, who I believe, and I take their word for it. On the following day, before the case went to where it is [a] ‘not guilty verdict,’ I went back there again, and I told the same officer again, ‘officer, please tell me where is the recording, because you assured me there was a recording’, because normally I know you turn some evidence in Belize, the …witness normally turn up dead or something go wrong and he said, ‘Miss Mai, we have a recording; we will use this in court even if she [turns] up dead’, so I went and I told the prosecutor for the Supreme Court, and I said, ‘the officer said there is a recording,’ and he said, ‘Miss Mai, we need it, the case is going on,’ and then I went back [to the police officer] and I said, ‘we need the recording, the prosecutor is asking for it,’ and he said, ‘I don’t know where the recording is; The recording went missing!’ I said ‘Jesus, what is happening?’”
Mai denies the assertions of Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, that her daughter had been involved in a lovers’ quarrel which ultimately led to her gruesome murder. Instead, Mai stated that her daughter was a pivotal witness in a court case, and she believes that this is what led to Keona Ara’s death .
“She was a key witness in a case; after she turns up dead, and when CIB went to my house, I told them, ‘this right here, this mixup will cost my daughter her life’ and I told them to their [faces] that,” Mai said.
Mai said that she had been trying to establish contact with the Director of Public Prosecution in an attempt to appeal the ruling which set free the men who she believes murdered Ara, but that the 21-day period within which an appeal can be filed has since elapsed, and she is now looking into other legal remedies.
“I have been telling them that I need to appeal this case. I’ve been to the DPP office. I’ve been back to the Supreme Court. I’ve been back to the DPP office, and they told me, ‘she’s not there.’” Mai said. “I spoke to someone who works with the DPP and they told me on what grounds I want to appeal, so I said, ‘I am not satisfied with the outcome of the case’”, Mai went on to say.
7News reported last night that they received a statement from the Director of Prosecution, Cheryl Lynn Vidal, who explained that a key witness’s statement, which “connected the accused to the offence” had not been forwarded to the court and the DPP’s office, as they should have been, and, according to 7News, “when Vidal went to inquire at the Clerk of Court, it still could not be found, which led her to make an official police report. She said that an investigation had commenced but the police never shared the results of the conclusion to the complainant, despite requests.” The witness, who according to reports had indicated she feared for her life, had at some point provided another statement that was later deemed to be unreliable.
Vidal also told 7News that she had never received any indication that there was an audio recording, and that the police officer who, according to Mai, had made reference to the existence of an audio recording, had denied having any knowledge of it when asked about it.
It is to be noted as well that, according to 7News, Vidal has stated that she was never informed that Mai had been seeking to meet with her.
According to 7News, Vidal also pointed out that the period within which Mai can seek to appeal the ruling will not commence until a written judgement has been delivered, but the DPP expressed doubts that an attempt to appeal the verdict would be successful.
Mai is seeking assistance to file a civil suit but needs assistance to do so.
“The attorneys are there. They are there ready to take up the challenge, but as you know, to even sit and talk to an attorney, it costs money,” noted Mai.
Anyone who would like to assist Mai with legal funding can deposit a contribution into her La Inmaculada Credit Union account. The account number is 31758.