Son Chops Father to Death after Attack on Younger Brother
Amaya Salvador Rivas
A chopping incident this morning in a village in southern Belize appears to be the end result of years of violence within the Rivas/Ical home. Amaya Salvador Rivas reportedly died at the hands of his eldest son, but an investigation is underway to determine whether the incident was a murder or self-defence. News Five’s Duane Moody reports from San Roman Village in the Stann Creek District.
Santa Ical and Amaya Salvador Rivas share seven children – one daughter and six sons – but they’ve been separated for quite some time now. Since July of 2021, Ical and her boys have been living in a vegetated area of San Roman Village. But on Monday night, Rivas visited the family sometime after nine o’clock. He slept in the kitchen, which is a thatch structure to the rear of the property. Before dawn, however, Rivas reportedly broke into the house where Ical and her children slept and attacked their eighteen-year-old son.
Edwin Rivas
Edwin Rivas, Son of Deceased
“So last night, he came in like around nine last night and he relaxed. But then he gone inside yonder with my ma and the rest ah we stay right yah di sleep. And then ih relax, ih stay and he quiet; ih sleep with my ma. And then like around one now, ih start quarrel with my ma again. He start and start and start till ih get vex and angry and then he just come in and want try fight with my bredda. He come and want try fight with my bredda inside, but like how my bredda still di sleep, he come in and want try fight with my bredda, try choke ahn ina di hammock.”
Duane Moody
Duane Moody (Standup)
“The violence started here inside the home of Santa Ical where she and her children were sleeping. It ended with her eldest son, Olvin Rivas chasing his father with a machete and ending his life a couple yards from where I am standing.”
Edwin Rivas
“my bredda get up and that man just get frighten and then he run weh outside, but ina di same time, my bredda done get vex already. So when my bredda get vex, he just come outside and pick up ih machete and ih gone. Ih chase ahn one time. Me, I still di kinda sleep, but I hear weh di happen. And then I come outside from through this door yah and I gone and when time I reach right there I hear dehn done di make noise yonder between the two ah dehn already.”
Augustine Choc
Augustine Choc, Chairman, San Roman Village
“ I see the person was laid down on the ground. I see ih get chop behind the head; get chop like four times. Bleeding from the head and ih foot get chop too.”
Chairman Augustine Choc then called the police. But there seems to have been a history of domestic violence that for years have gone unreported.
Augustine Choc
“What his mother tell me dah long time dehn get ina problem. Every day we have a problem with my husband, every day. So I tell her why you neva come with me and do a report and I call police for unu so police should done get to find out if unu got a problem every day. So like that they should have a statement…”
Duane Moody
“…like a record of the fact that there has been abuse, domestic violence….”
Augustine Choc
“[Mmhmm!] Exactly. So that’s why right I can’t do nothing I tell her. But the thing is, unu have to try to do a report of how di thing happen.”
Duane Moody
“ What’s going through your head right now? Yo pa dead…”
Edwin Rivas
“Well nothing because, ih kinda because when time he used to deh yah, he like quarrel and dehn things like that with we. And when we mi used to live dah Georgetown, every day, every day. My bredda mi wah hurt he from long time, but then he lef ahn. My bredda mi feel sorry fuh he so ih lef ahn. Ih just fight with he, but ih neva do ahn nothing. Afterwards, ih mi feel like ih still bad cause nobody mi touch ahn yet. And then ih chase wi from yonder and tell we make we come live dah San Roman.”
Rivas’ body was transported to the Southern Regional Hospital where it awaits a post-mortem. Reporting from San Roman Village in Stann Creek, Duane Moody for News Five.
