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Youth’s death unexplained: fratricide, accident, or sickness

GeneralYouth’s death unexplained: fratricide, accident, or sickness

BELIZE CITY, Tues. Dec. 28, 2021– A fight between siblings — something that occurs in a large number of families — ended tragically when a 16-year-old died suddenly at the Belize Medical Associates hospital on Christmas Eve while undergoing treatment for head and stomach pain — pain that reportedly started when his brother punched him in the face. Keenan Young, 16, had been in an altercation with his older brother, Alex Neal, 32, on December 8 in the yard in which the brothers and their father resided in Hattieville.

The older Neal, who is reportedly a professional boxer, allegedly punched Young in the left side of his face when Young told Neal that he could not borrow a spade.

Young’s father, who recounted what occurred to local reporters, said. “I went to work and at work, about 9:30, the boy called and said ‘Dad, Alex punched me down for the spade.’ I have a spade that is cracked, and he lives in my yard and he knows that I don’t lend out my tools. I think he told Alex, “Daddy said don’t take the spade and don’t use it because it will break’. I don’t know what happened after that, because he came in the dump truck at the front of my yard to use the spade to dig out core from out the truck.”

Since receiving the blow to his face, however, Young had reportedly been complaining of headaches, and had even, according to reports, been given a CAT scan at the hospital. Two days before his death, he began to experience additional discomforts — a swelling of the stomach and numbness in his legs. His father, Ian Young, 52, sent Young for medical attention, and he was admitted to the Belize Medical Associates at 9:50 in the morning on Friday, December 24 — Christmas Eve.

According to reports, a little over an hour later, at around 10:55 a.m., while Young was being treated by doctors, foam started to come from his mouth, and he became motionless. He was pronounced dead by Dr. Fernando Cuellar at 10:59 a.m, police reports say.

It has been reported that a small swelling was seen on the left side of Young’s cheek near his left eye, and thus police suspect foul play.

Today the Police Department’s communications director, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, told local media that police are awaiting the results of a postmortem examination on Young’s body to determine what charges, if any, will be brought against his brother. This will hinge on whether the exam indicates that any injury sustained during the fight led to the victim’s untimely death.

The father of the two brothers, Ian Young, has indicated that he feels that Neal, to some extent, should be held accountable for Young’s death — especially since Young’s refusal to lend Neal the spade he requested was based on instructions he received from his father— instructions that both brothers knew well. In reference to Neal, whom he referred to as an “outside son”, he said.

“I don’t know why he punched my son, or what my son did to him to make the fight happen… I don’t know if he meant it, I have rules and regulation at my yard and I always tell him that I don’t lend out anything, so he knows. And if your brother tells you the spade broke, I think you should have understood that you should not use it, but he is demanding.”

He further stated, “What I am saying, if he does wrong and he get charge for it, I wouldn’t deny it. because you should have good sense to know that is a little boy and you are wrong to come at that little boy…”

“He fights professional for Belize, so he knows. I don’t think he meant to do it, and he knows that he should not fight out here, because his hands are his tools, so I think he knows not to use it,” he added.

It had been reported earlier that Young’s mother, Sherrilyn Oshon, had initially indicated that she did not want to press charges against Neal.

During a police press briefing, however, ASP Fitzroy Yearwood said, “We owe it to the state to investigate the loss of anybody’s life, regardless if it’s at the hands of your parents or sibling. A life has been lost, and based on the outcome of our investigation, we’ll determine whether or not he will be charged.”

Since then, there have been reports that Osbon believes that Neal “should be going to jail” if the postmortem exam on Young’s body reveals that his death resulted from the punch to his face, which reportedly caused him to momentarily lose consciousness. She reportedly said that Neal should have been aware that his hands are a “weapon”.

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