Carnival morning should have brought music, color and celebration to Pickstock Street. Instead, it brought heartbreak to the family of forty-five-year-old Jeremy Hendricks. Police say an early-morning domestic dispute turned deadly when Hendricks was fatally stabbed, leaving his loved ones to mourn as festivities unfolded around them. News Five’s Shane Williams reports on the violent start to what should have been a joyful weekend.
Shane Williams
Shane Williams, Reporting
“While most Belize City residents were out enjoying Carnival on Saturday, one family here in the Pickstock community was dealing with unimaginable grief. That’s because just hours earlier, after three a.m. that morning, their loved one, Jeremy Hendricks, was stabbed after an altercation with his common-law wife. He was stabbed in the arm and was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, he eventually succumbed to his injuries. Police have since detained the common-law wife for questioning in relation to the stabbing death.”
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“ Police have formally arrested and charged fifty-year-old Arlene Arnold of Belize City for the crime of manslaughter. The investigating officer reported that they were advised of an injured male person on Pickstock Street, and upon visiting that area, they observed the person, later identified as being Mr. Hendricks, bleeding profusely. He was transported to the hospital for medical attention; however, he subsequently succumbed to those injuries. What the investigation has indicated is that there was a physical altercation between Mr. Hendricks and the arrested female, wherein the arrested female is alleged to have produced a bottle which she inflicted a cut wound to the arm of Mr. Hendricks.”
Friends knew Hendricks as Tambran, a fixture in the Jungle community. Hendricks’ mother was too overcome with grief to speak on camera. She says she will always remember him waking up early and sitting on the same bench every morning. His youngest sister, meanwhile, faced the heartbreaking task of telling her children that their uncle was gone.
Voice of: Sister of Deceased
“He da mi wa nice and loving uncle to he niece and nephew. And they very much hurt and traumatized by this incident, to be honest. ‘Cause he da mi the one who does carry my kids to school every day, and now that can’t happen again. So we really hurt a lot, a lot, but like weh I tell my ma, da just time and God and left everything inna God hand. That’s all I could say. My brother was a loving person. Nobody perfect, but other than that, he mi really love he family and ih family members them.”
Arlene Arnold
A threat allegedly made during an argument on Friday took on a chilling new meaning just hours later, when Jeremy Hendricks was fatally stabbed. His mother says Hendricks’ common-law wife had threatened to kill him, but the family brushed it aside as the couple’s usual war of words. She says she had welcomed the woman into her home for years and treated her with love despite the couple’s troubled relationship.
ASP Stacy Smith
“ As it relates to whether there is any history of domestic violence between the two who were common law partners, I’ve been advised by Commander Gender-Based Violence Response and Investigative Unit that there is no history of reported cases. However, in speaking to persons who reside in their area, it would want to appear that physical altercation was somewhat of the norm.”
Shane Williams
“Why has she not been charged with murder?”
ASP Stacy Smith
“The file was sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, and that is the directive that was issued.”
As she cried out in pain, Hendricks’ mom, issued a caution to all. Convinced that alcohol played a role in the deadly confrontation, she issued a blunt warning: “If you know you can’t handle your liquor, don’t drink.” Shane Williams for News Five.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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