Belize: Man remanded on murder charge after fatal stabbing

Belize: A 53-year-old man has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison after he appeared before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, May 13, following the charges of murder. He is accused of fatally stabbing a 56-year-old man earlier this week.

The accused has been identified as 53-year-old Ralph Sherlock Martinez Sr., also known as “Mini Man,” while the victim has been identified as 56-year-old Mark Longsworth, a resident and a caretaker from Belize City.

According to police reports, the suspect was presented before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court, on Wednesday, May 13, in connection with a murder charge, of a man where court ordered him be remanded to the Belize Central Prison until his next hearing which is scheduled for July 10. The court did not grant his plea and also denied his bail due to the seriousness of the charge.

Reportedly, the charges stem from the incident that occurred on Monday, May 11, at around 12:30 a.m., at the corner of Ebony and Mopan Streets, when the deceased was stabbed by the suspect, wearing light-colored pants and a white shirt.

Bystanders later transported him to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he was initially treated but later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by the doctors at 1:00 a.m.

The officers then launched their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and obtained CCTV footage of the incident where they noticed a man leaving a house on Lakeview Street at approximately 12:29 a.m., and walking across beams over a canal toward Vernon Street, wearing the same clothes as the suspect.

The officers further noticed that minutes later, the same individual was returning to the area after jumping a fence near Sittee and Vernon Streets, following which the officers immediately conducted a search at the premises located in the area.

Upon searching the premises, the officers found Martinez Sr. who was wearing the same clothes  and was matching the given suspect’s description, responding to which the officers quickly arrested him and took him to the Raccoon Street Police Station.

During the interrogation conducted on Tuesday, the suspect denied all the allegations and stated that he was at his residence at the time of the incident and claimed he had been home asleep.

The investigation into the matter is ongoing and further details will be provided on the completion of the next hearing, scheduled on July 10.