Just a day after Mark Usher was shot outside his home, another resident in the area was murdered, this time inside his house. Police believe the two killings are connected. Forty-one-year-old Rafael Caceres had just finished a twelve-hour shift at Bowen and Bowen and was taking a nap after lunch when he was killed. Here’s News Five’s Marion Ali with the report.
April Slusher, Common-law Wife of Deceased
“I hear bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. When I run out ya, da person, all weh I holla, (****), watch weh you just done do. You kill my man.” You think he look back? He run He never even run down the step, he just start to jump. He just start to jump down the step.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
April Slusher saw the man who had just killed her common-law husband fleeing from their home on Robinson Street, near Faber’s Road, shortly after midday. Slusher had spent the last fifteen years with Rafael Caceres, and they had three young daughters together. She recalled that on Sunday afternoon, Caceres had just finished eating, and she was washing his plate in the kitchen when she heard gunshots at the doorway.
April Slusher
“The way how he come in, he come here like we know he. We nuh even know this person weh come ya, fi he come tek my husband’s life like this.
What’s worse is that the couple’s three-year-old daughter was sitting right across from her father but out of the killer’s view. She heard the shots that killed her dad and saw when his body went limp.
April Slusher
“Mi baby mi deh over dey across fa he. She just shock. She nuh even see because the curtain mi deh right deh. He politely come, haul the curtain. I di tell yoh mammy, this hurt.”
Police Commissioner Chester Williams reported that by the time investigators arrived, Caceres had already died.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“On Sunday afternoon just after midday, police were called to the Arlington Drive area of Belize City where upon arrival they encountered the lifeless body of Mr. Rafael Caceres inside his home with multiple gunshot injuries. He was taken to the K.H.M.H., where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It is our belief that the shooting death of Caceres is a direct retaliation for the death of Mark Usher.”
Police believe this killing is directly linked to the murder of Mark Usher.
Chester Williams
“Following the death of Mark Usher, we had actually detained all the Caceres brothers, but we didn’t go for Raphael because Raphael has not been in the loop. He has been a very good citizen, law-abiding, working, and so we did not anticipate that they would have targeted him. He actually lived far away from the other Caceres brothers, so I guess that because they could not have found the other brothers, they went after the one who was most vulnerable.”
It’s unclear if surveillance cameras caught the moments before and after the killing, but reports indicate that a grey Ford Escape with no license plates was seen circling the house before the incident. This is the vehicle the gunman reportedly emerged from. Meanwhile, April Slusher strongly denied accusations that they were harboring criminal relatives of Caceres.
April Slusher
“Anybody weh know me, know April, April, know I nuh harbor no bredda. I drive da vehicle when they see me in deh, and know that no bredda never deh in ya and no bredda nuh come eena my house.”
Slusher spoke to the media from the very chair where Caceres had been sitting at the entrance of their home when he was murdered. Today she lamented her loss.
April Slusher
“All weh I want da coward know, when he tek weh from my pikni and me, he kill a good man because my husband gone. But fi he legacy, and people weh know he wa still carry that on, and speak the truth and tell everybody what a good person my husband was.”
Commissioner Williams stated that after the murder, police increased their presence in the area to gather all possible evidence and ensure the culprit is brought to justice.
Chester Williams
“We have since detained one suspect. That suspect will be placed on identification parade today and it is our hope that he would be, he will be identified and will be charged for the murder of Mr. Caceres. The man certainly was doing well, living with his family not bothering nobody. And so when you venture to kill somebody innocent, just because you couldn’t get the ones that you want, that is troubling. And we take it seriously, and that’s the reason why we deployed as much as we could have resources in the area. We need to get whatever evidence we need to get it so that we can hold those whoever is responsible for his murder for justice.”
Marion Ali for News Five.
