by Charles Gladden
INDEPENDENCE, Stann Creek District, Tues. Sept. 13, 2022
More information is emerging about circumstances surrounding the brutal murder of Marcelina Makin, 37, a bar waitress, and mother of 3, from Aguacate Village, Toledo District, whose body was found on top of a tomb in a cemetery in Independence village, Stann Creek District, by a resident in the village.
At about 6:30 in the morning on Monday, September 12, a resident of the village who was on their way to lay flowers at the tomb of a loved one, discovered Makin’s motionless body in a face-down position on top of a white tile with visible cut injuries to her head and throat. Reports are that the corpse was already in an early state of decomposition.
Makin was last seen on Friday, September 9, at her workplace, Blue Angels Bar Malt & Cider, approximately two blocks away from where she was found and wasn’t seen again until early Monday morning, when news broke of her death. A co-worker of Makin mentioned to a local reporter that Makin had told her that about two weeks ago, she was robbed of her possessions in an area close to where her body would later be found, but that Makin couldn’t identify the person.
Manuel Cal, the brother-in-law of Makin, told local reporters that Makin relocated to Independence Village approximately 5 to 6 years ago as a means to provide for her three children in Toledo, and would often return on her days off to leave money for them and travel back to Independence.
And while a post-mortem examination of Makin’s body is yet to be conducted, there is speculation that Makin had been sexually assaulted and left for dead at the cemetery. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams has neither confirmed nor denied that claim, and when he met with local media on Tuesday, September 13, he noted that the investigation is still ongoing.
“Investigators are still out trying to gather as much as they can. We need to start off [with] when she was last seen, [whom] she was seen with, where if anything she went, with [whom] she went. So these are things that we are trying to get the answers to for now, and hopefully, that will be able to give us some lead in respect to the matter. We also need to look at her. If she had a boyfriend, if there is some possibility that it could have been him. So there are things that we looking at to try and get to the bottom of that,” he said.