2024-09-12 - Channel 5 Belize

Leiva Funeral Home Says Miscommunication Led to Cremation

On Wednesday night, we brought you the horrific story of twenty-six-year-old Dornell Talbert. He is the resident of Double Head Cabbage who was murdered over the weekend and his body was mistakenly cremated only a couple days later. Munnings Funeral Home broke the unfortunate news to the family on Wednesday afternoon. The owner, Andrew Munnings, is taking full responsibility for the error. He contends, however, that the third-party funeral home he contracted to transport Talbert’s body from Burrell Boom to the K.H.M.H. morgue got the instructions all wrong and proceeded to cremate the body instead. Well, today, we spoke with the director of the funeral home that was contracted as a third party, Leiva Funeral Home. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

“Chico”, Director, Leiva’s Funeral Home

“First of all, I got a call from Mister Munnings, so I asked him are you ready for the cremation? He said, no, finance is not available as yet, but I have a body for you to pick up a body and deal with. When I get that statement to deal with a body it is direct cremation. If you say transport, from point A to point B, that is different.”

Paul Lopez, Reporting

That’s the voice of Chico. He is using a childhood alias and is speaking off camera for fear of his safety. Chico runs a funeral home that mistakenly cremated the body of twenty-six-year-old Dornell Talbert earlier this week. Talbert was shot and killed in Scotland Halfmoon on Saturday. As the undertaker explains, a cremation that was scheduled for Monday was eventually postponed.

“Chico”, Director, Leiva’s Funeral Home

“And first of all, this mix up with a man and woman, can’t be possible. One body is at Karl Heusner from August the thirty-first and one body is at Burrell Boom. So, there is no mix up in a male and a female. The mix-up is cremation and transport from Burrell Boom to Karl Heusner.”

Paul Lopez

“How do you interpret a body “to deal with” as cremation?

“Chico”, Levia Funeral Home

“Usually, if you say transport a body from point A, to point B, I know that is clear, transport a body from point A to point B. But, when you say I have a body to deal with, automatically I say, in my head, that is cremation, because that is the term we are already use to.”

A tomb for what should have been Talbert’s casket has already been constructed at the Double Head Cabbage Cemetery. The grave error, however, now means that a metal urn will be placed inside the concrete tomb and not a wooden casket. Stephanie Talbert spoke with us today while standing next to her son’s tomb.

Stephanie Talbert, Mother of Deceased

“Well we can’t make no arrangements. It is already done. We just have to finish it and we wah put this person that is supposed to be my son in there. I don’t know if this dah my son, in loving memory of who. Mister Munnings did everything he could do for us and now I have to deal with this. And so we just wah do with this and do it on our own. We have our pastor that we are going to do the service with, because now it is not a funeral service. It is like a celebration to remember life. Everything stays the same, it’s just that now it is without a body.”

According to Andrew Munnings, before any cremation, the funeral home must be in possession of a death certificate and full authorization must be given by the family. In this case, while Munnings Funeral Home had the death certificate, none of the funeral homes were in possession of a consent form from Dornell Talbert’s family.

Andrew Munnings, Owner, Munnings Funeral Home

“The body should have been in the morgue from Monday evening. Keep in mind the morgue was waiting for this body to come back from Monday evening. If it was that I had scheduled a cremation the morgue would have locked up from five, the morgue would not have waited for anybody. There was no consent for any cremation, anything. When I got the death certificate it was from an employee at the medical college because the family member that witnessed the autopsy did not have any net. You have to send me that for me to say, I declare I am the person in charge of this body. That is the reason why I called the other funeral home, please go ahead, I am dealing with my daughter, move the body from Boom and bring it back to KHMH.”

Leiva’s Funeral Home trusted that its counterpart had all the paperwork dealt with and would make the proper submissions after the September Tenth holiday. Chico says, all he needed to move the body from Burrell Boom was the death certificate which was left at the facility’s security booth.

“Chico”, Director, Leiva Funeral Home

“Listen to me, these guys contract me to cremate. They deal with the paperwork. I go and deal with the physical part, because it is not my personal job. If it was my personal job, I would have known it was no cremation, because I would have been up there with that form. I don’t use any other agent or any other people. I try to be there to the best of my ability, so these things don’t happen. This is nothing strange to me. Sometimes the body is decomposed, sometimes the autopsy finishes when the autopsy is already finished. So, this is nothing strange to me, like this is the first time I went to do a cremation without certain documents. I just got to clear my name, because I am a well-known guy and anywhere I go, they say “bway, bway, you burn the wrong body”. I can’t go on living like this.”

Chico insists that the blunder was the result of miscommunication and nothing more. The situation has left his entire staff distressed and sends his condolences to the family. News Five understands that the family of Dornell Talbert is weighing its options, including the possibility of legal recourse.

Stephanie Talbert

“They need at least a family member, the paper from the postmortem, the death certificate and none of that was not given. I still, we need more answers. There are more questions than answers. There is still so much things that should have been done instead of going through with a, whatever it is called, cremation. I get it correct, cremation.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Charges Levied Following Fatal Santa Elena RTA

Fifty-seven-year-old businessman, Simeon Herrera has been charged in connection with the fatal road traffic accident that claimed the life of nineteen-year-old Tamisha Jeal on September eighth in Santa Elena Town. As we reported, Tamisha and her brother Keenan Wragg were travelling on a motorbike towards San Ignacio when a pickup truck, travelling in the opposite direction, made a sudden turn into their lane. The siblings collided into the vehicle and were flung off the motorbike. Tamisha sustained fatal injuries. On Wednesday, police charged Herrera with one count of manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, failure to give way when changing direction, driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license and driving a motor vehicle not covered by third-party risk insurance. Tamisha’s father, Graham Jeal urged motorists to be more cautious on the nation’s highways.

Graham Jeal, Father of Deceased

“In certain cases, I just want to reflect on the life of my daughter. I want to reflect that she lived a good life, a happy life. She was an amazing child like what my wife said. A lot of potential ahead of her for sure. Tragedy does happen in this world and this life, but sometimes tragedy can be avoided by just being a little bit more careful on both sides, being a biker and a driver, because I have the same experience, and actually being a driver of a vehicle. We just need to learn to take more keen attention when we are driving. When we are driving the lives of other people is also in your hands. I explained that to my son and I hope that other people take that into consideration. When we drive on the road, we are not just driving for ourselves, but we are driving for everybody else as well.”

Falling Debris Injures Two Women at Novelo’s Bus Terminal

Two unsuspecting women escaped grave injuries this afternoon when rubble from the roof of the bus terminal on East Collet Canal fell on them. The women were having a brief conversation on the sidewalk just outside of the building when a piece of cement fell from the rooftop and landed on them. It was a frightening experience for persons in the immediate area and the mishap has led to questions about the integrity and soundness of the building. News Five’s Isani Cayetano visited the scene today and spoke with members of the taxi association. He also spoke with the husband of one of the women who remains hospitalized at the K.H.M.H. tonight. Here’s that story.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A fifty-three-year-old woman is hospitalized at the KHMH after being struck by falling debris at Novelo’s Bus Terminal here in Belize City. Ana Chanim and her husband Felito arrived at the station around midday and were on the sidewalk in front of the building when she felt a sharp and sudden pain in her right collarbone.

Felito Chanim, Husband

“What happened is that I came down here today, me, my wife and my son-in-law we went to an interview for a job for me, and after that well then we came back and had lunch and we decided to catch the bus to go back home to Belmopan. Doing so, my wife was behind me and I was walking in front of her and she paused to speak with another lady and the roof of the terminal, atop, the cement building roof, fell from up there and the piece of block fell on her shoulder. I don’t know what is broken, I don’t know what it is as yet but we have her in the emergency room at this moment. We’re not sure what the outcome will be.”

According to Thomas Garcia, a cab driver who operates from the terminal, he frequently hangs out in front of the building, along with members of his taxi association, to greet customers. Not once did they realize that high above them the roof of the building was breaking apart.

Thomas Garcia, Taxi Driver

“All of us like to stand up outside, neva know that this thing ya di heng pan di side and none of us even look at it that kinda way, right. And apparently, you had two ladies and another man were standing out there waiting for somebody to come and pick them and sudden one dis thing ya just break away.”

Isani Cayetano

“What kind of assistance was given to the two women after they got injured?

Thomas Garcia

“Well, apparently deh mi di wait pan di ambulance but according to what I see, these taximen from out here, they rushed the two people to the hospital.”

The incident, says Chanim, was rather frightening. The falling debris sent passersby, as well as people entering the terminal, scrambling for cover.

Felito Chanim

“Everybody were really frightened. People were running all over the place because they think more was coming down. They thought that more of the building was falling I mean everybody was frightened because little bricks were falling, little small pieces, so everybody was running for shelter. Mein I was terrorized, I was frightened. The thing is, my wife was behind me, I didn’t even know that the thing fell on her because I think the impact that she got, at the moment, she didn’t react. She reacted like a couple moments after when she realized that she got hurt. That’s when she jumped and hugged me, you know, and when she hugged me she was falling and I had to lift her up because she couldn’t even stand up, you know, and it was frightening, really, because I didn’t expect something like that. That’s right out of the blues. You’re going into the terminal, this thing could have fallen on her head, imagine.”

In the wake of what took place earlier today, Garcia is making an appeal to the management of the terminal to assess the building for structural soundness.

Thomas Garcia

“I would like to make, well I would say the guy that runs this terminal and so on to keep on checking and make sure that this does not happen again because this is a lawsuit for these people, whiching these people neva touch nothing fi mek that could drop pan dehn, but what I am saying is that by right dehn suppose to check it out.”

Isani Cayetano

“Was there any response from persons who were in the building on the second floor?”

Felicito Chanim

“No, there was none. Just a couple employees sitting at the top laughing. I don’t know what was funny but I guess they found something funny about it, but nobody from the terminal itself who was in charge did come down and say anything or checked what was the problem. I would like to let them take responsibility as well because as I said, I am not working right now and hospital is a bill, so they should take some responsibility and see what they can do to help.”

Isani Cayetano for News Five.

George Price Centre Hosts House Meeting Friday

Since the National Assembly Building was constructed in 1971, it has been the venue of the country’s parliamentary proceedings. But as the country grew over those years, so did the constituencies, which means that there are spacing issues. Aside from that, the building was in dire need of repairs. And the Government of Taiwan came through and provided the funding for the upgrade of the historic building. So, for the next twelve months, all House Meetings will be held at the George Price Center, while the necessary works are being carried out. Today, Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods called the media to the center to show us seating arrangements and how the temporary venue has been outfitted to carry out the proceedings. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting

It was fifty-three years ago that this historic landmark, the National Assembly Building, was opened to conduct the people’s business. Now it has grown out of space and needs an urgent upgrade that will allow for the country’s most important business to be carried out there for at least a few more years.

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“The National Assembly on Independence Hill was built and constructed and inaugurated in 1970. So we’re looking at 50 plus years without any major renovations. In addition to that, we’re looking at a national assembly legislature that has grown from when it was first inaugurated.”

Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, says that the upgrade must include retrofitting that takes everyone’s needs into account.

Valerie Woods

“Not too long ago, there was a passage of the disabilities bill, which was made into law. And that was a very clear and glaring example that our legislature, even though it speaks to the House of Representatives, and it is the People’s House of Representatives, is simply not accessible. It’s not accessible by members of the public who have mobility issues, and quite frankly by members of Parliament, as well as staff who may have mobility issues, and media as well. So, that was also an urgent need to do that. It fosters inclusion as well.”

Over the next twelve months, the National Assembly Building will undergo major transformation to make it contemporary and necessary repairs to a leaky roof that deteriorated over time. But to get the work done, a temporary venue had to be identified where House Meetings can be held. Woods says the George Price Center for Peace and Development is that building. Even that venue had to be prepared to specificity for the business at hand.

Valerie Woods

“We worked with the board of the George Price. um, Center for Peace and Development and, uh, thanks to their accommodation and to the really the excellent work of the engineers, architects over at the, uh, Ministry of Infrastructure and Development and Housing, we are now able to hold a house meeting that will, a house, and of course, Senate meetings afterwards, that will be in a chamber that replicates that of the legislature, is functional, As for our Standing Orders.”

The only drawback to the current venue is that the space does not allow for a public gallery inside the building. So come Friday, when the first House Meeting will be held at the George Price Center, there will be no audience in attendance.

Valerie Woods

“The only option, quite frankly, to have persons present for the public gallery would be housing them under a tent outside with a big screen, but we’re, we’re taking this on a case-by-case basis. The House meeting tomorrow is our first real test run. We think we’ve done everything in the planning. We started as early as May. And with the, with the teamwork of the staff here, got it ready. And we think we’ve managed our anticipated glitches. But tomorrow will be our first test.”

The media has been assigned to a small seating area with chairs to carry the meetings live. When the renovated National Assembly Building is complete within the next year, it should have a more modern look, with improved acoustics and an overall improved working environment and accessibility for all. Marion Ali for News Five.

House Speaker to Opposition Leader: Oh No!

On September fifth, the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow wrote to the Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, asking her to remove two elected representatives from the U.D.P.’s side of the floor. The ongoing dispute between Barrow and the faction that calls itself Alliance for Democracy has been festering for quite some time and has reached new levels. It has gone before the House Speaker, where Barrow sought her intervention to remove his party colleagues from the house. But the speaker told reporters today that she cannot grant his request because it is not permitted under the Constitution.

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“I responded and I laid it out based on the sections that the leader of opposition cited why the threshold was not met and therefore no such declaration will be made at the house meeting. One members of the House of Representatives. I have received no resignation that has been tendered to any of the party leaders regarding any of their members having resigned. A careful look at the Constitution, particularly at the sections cited, will demonstrate that the threshold has not been met, the criteria has not been met, and therefore I can’t – the Speaker is not in a position to make any such declaration.”

Reporter

“This idea of “constructively resigned” based on your knowledge of the Constitution, does this actually exist? Is this a legitimate term?”

Valerie Woods

“The terminology used, “constructively resigned” does not appear anywhere in the Constitution, but more importantly, what appears in the Constitution under the sections cited – that would be the [Section] 59, what appears there is a very clear indication of how a member makes an announcement or pronouncement or notification of his or her resignation and that has not occurred.”

When will the Ministry of Transport Get a New CEO?

It’s been almost a month since the third C.E.O. in the Ministry of Transport has demitted office. The last C.E.O., Doctor Gilroy Middleton, joined the ministry in January, but only remained there for seven months before resigning. Today, the Minister of Transport, Rodwell Ferguson, assured us that there is no problem between him and his CEOs. To date, he has changed three chief executive officers. He explained that in the last case, it was simply a matter of Middleton getting a better job offer from the University of Belize.

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport

“Before the CEO left, we had a very good relationship. He came and said Minister, I think my passion is in teaching. I want to go back into the classroom. I said go back in the classroom.”

Reporter

“And do you know who will replace him?”

Rodwell Ferguson

“At the moment I have one person working temporary until the prime minister decides to give me a CEO.”

Special Envoy Joins Child Safety Summit in Ukraine

Belize’s Special Envoy for Women and Children, Rosanna Briceño, is participating in the fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Ukraine to address child safety in families. The conference is hosted by the First Lady of Ukraine to bring together global leaders to discuss critical issues affecting families and children worldwide. The Special Envoy will be a key participant in a discussion that focuses on topics such as parenting challenges, government support for families, and mental health care for children. This dialogue aims to foster collaborative solutions and share best practices to enhance child safety and well-being across diverse contexts. While in attendance, the special envoy will participate in a UNICEF podcast session, visit a National Children’s Hospital that was severely impacted by recent missile attacks; and tour the newly established Child Rights Protection Center. The delegation will also be featured in a special cover photoshoot for ELLE Ukraine, dedicated to the Fourth Summit and soft power initiatives.

Belize’s Two-Time Olympian: Shaun Gill’s Legendary Run

In the last decade, the name Shaun Gill has become one that is well-known to Belizeans for his accomplishments in track and field. For nearly twenty years, the thirty-one-year-old athlete worked his way up to becoming one of Belize’s biggest names in running, going on to represent the country twice at the Olympics. Since his early days, Gill has been an advocate for Belizean youths pursuing their dreams. Recently, Gill spoke out about the challenges athletes face in Belize, specifically when it comes to funding for facilities, equipment and transportation. Upon returning home from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gill announced his retirement, choosing instead to pursue a career in his other passion; engineering. In tonight’s edition of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Britney Gordon highlights some of the pivotal moments of Gill’s career and spoke with some of the coaches that aided Gill along the journey.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Imagine having the weight of the country on your back. Thousands of Belizeans depending on you to make your country shine. For Shaun Gill, he didn’t have to imagine. That was his reality. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gill gained international recognition for the pride, passion and patriotism he displayed while waving the Belizean standard as the country’s lone Olympian. But Shaun Gill has been a respected name in track and field for the country for about twenty years, wracking up medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Central American Games. He made his Olympic debut in 2022 in Tokyo.

Shaun Gill, Belizean Olympic Athlete (File: July 6th, 2021)

“It is heart-warming, because it is a dream. As athletes this is what we dream about. The Olympics is the biggest stage when it comes to all the sports, all the disciplines in the world. You know, swimming, track, canoeing, any sport you can think about right. And, this is really the highest stage you can be. And, as a kid growing up this was always the dream. Sometimes it felt like it never would have happened, but I just sticked to the sport. I’ve been in the sports ten fifteen years now and I guess the hard work the pay off now.”

Belize is one of many countries highly underrepresented at the Olympics. To increase diversity, the International Olympic Committee allows countries to send delegates who did not initially qualify to compete in select events. These are known as universality places. In 2021, Gill was selected as one of the athletes to receive a universality place. Gill’s Olympic career did not end there. In 2023, he received an Olympic scholarship which allowed him to finance his training and improve his skills in the hopes of competing at the 2024 Olympic Games. Coach Ryan Dall, who trained with him at Texas A & M University in Kingsville, says that Gill is a natural role model and leader to younger athletes.

Ryan Dall, Coach, Texas A & M University

“It was great working with Shaun. Very hard worker, a very coachable athlete. He always tried to listen to the coaches and do the things that we asked him to do. He was a very good leader for our team, especially as he got older. A lot of the younger athletes really looked up to him and went to him for advice and guidance and things not just about track, but just about life in general. When you have someone who’s been at the Olympics and thing and large international meets. The other athletes really respect that and want to learn from him and learn of his experiences as well. So it was great having him here. We’re definitely going to miss him.”

Being able to represent Belize at the Olympics was an exciting moment in Gill’s career but according to Dall, he celebrated his wins no matter how big or small.

Ryan Dall

“Him competing at two Olympics was certainly memorable. We got to see him on TV and everything like that. So it was very exciting to be able to do that. And then Shaun, there were several races. I remember one here at home that he ran. He had been, I think, stagnant in his progression for a little while. And then he ran. We had a home game, I think it was, and he ran a new personal best, and he was real excited about that. And obviously we were all excited for him.”

One of the challenges Gill faced in his career was the lack of resources in Belize. Sports continue to be severely underfunded, and the facilities remain in disrepair.

Shaun Gill (File: August 15^th, 2024)

“It takes a lot. It’s going to take heavy investment from the sporting bodies here in Belize. Obviously, heavy investment from the government. We do need the fan support from our Belizeans. And aside from that, especially with track and field, we don’t necessarily have the facilities. So most people, not even just the Caribbean countries, but most people leave their country to find better environments for training. I mean, even some of the great world class athletes, they leave their country and go to Jamaica because they know that Jamaica is the Mecca for sprinting. So we kind of have to look at it and start doing the same.”

Still, Gill pushed on due to his love for the sport. The reality of the of the matter is that being a full-time athlete is difficult to accomplish in Belize, many resort to participating in sports as a hobby. Frederick Evans, a Belizean coach, has been training athletes since the 1960’s. He says that the terrible condition of the facilities is a contributing factor as to why track and field athletes do not thrive in Belize.

Frederick Evans, Belizean Coach

“Towards the end, Shaun came to Belize. He tried to train here, but this track is just about done. As soon as he did a little bit of running here, he started to have pain because the track is unresponsive. It’s like hard instead of give and take. So he had to limit whatever little bit he could do here. And he was supposed to go back to Houston, to Texas, to train with his coach. But there was, and I really don’t know what all this was about, but there was some kind of financial problem, which made him unable to go ahead and do that. And so, over a period of years, he had been one of our top athletes, and he really put in his time and effort. Unfortunately, circumstances over the last couple of years were a little bit against his attaining his real potential.”

Evans has trained with hundreds of athletes over his sixty-year career, and he remembers Gill as a zealous athlete.

Frederick Evans

“Shaun was dedicated and committed. Sprinters need to be aggressive to be successful, and he had that aggressive nature about him which in some cases led some people to not like him too much, but you’re not in this to make friends nor to make enemies as the case may be. He was very talented and I personally believe that he did not get to reach his true potential.”

While his professional career in track and field might be over, the love he embodies for his country continues to thrive. No matter what his next pursuit may be, Shaun will have the support of his country right there with him.

Shaun Gill

“Just want to say thank you for all the support around the globe, especially Belizeans at home and abroad. Everybody doesn’t know, but this was my last race. I’m retiring. This is the official announcement. Thank you all. It’s been about eighteen years, this was the last one and it’s a sad moment for me. I didn’t compete. I didn’t get, I didn’t get the performance I expected, but this was the last one. So thanks to everyone. This is my farewell tour. Most of my highlights came at the central American championships where we compete in the region. Back home at our nationals, I went to Texas A & M university, Kingsville for about four years at the college of engineering, those are the highlights of my career, and I’m very grateful.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Inter-district E-buses Runs Open for Bids

As we reported on Wednesday, three new e-buses have arrived in Belize. Those buses will be assigned to a company that is currently running a public transportation operation. Today the Minister of Transport, Rodwell Ferguson told News Five that the company that qualifies for the routes will come right from among the existing pool of bus operators. This, he said, will ensure that there will be no additional competition.

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport

“The first start was two E-buses in Belize City and then now three that will service the Western and the Northern Highway. If you notice we put out the bid, put out the tender and those who have interest will bid and then a committee will sit down and decide who is the best person to bid to get all the rounds because one company will manage the three buses at least for one year pilot project. We are getting the same operators to apply. And so it will be one of them that will be successful. And so they are already in the system. So we are not bringing anybody new to compete along with them.”

Shortage of License Plates and Stickers Again at Transport

For yet another time, there’s a shortage of license stickers and license plates. Today the Minister of Transport said that they had received a press release in August informing them that they were in stock, but in just a month the stock was depleted. He did not shy away from taking blame and assured us that the problem should be fixed shortly.

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport

“As the minister responsible, I guess the buck stops at me. But ever since I tell my staff, we must get the act together. So, you know, put a database in place. I’m asking them for the last year, let us have a minimum reorder level and a maximum reorder level so we reach two hundred, it’s time to reorder. Right now, I believe we are getting to that, to that milestone, and hopefully after September, there should be no more issue with license plates. As those four sets came in, they’re gone. I want to applaud the Belizean people, they want to do things the legal way, and they come and demand a license plate, and come and demand their stickers. But we are now almost over the hump, and we should be able to come back and sweep.”

Reporter

“Why has it taken this long?”

Rodwell Ferguson

“I’ll say it’s internal, and I hope that I got it fixed now.”