Posted: December 14th, 2015. 7: 10 p.m. CST.
By Dalila Ical: The Briceño family from Paraiso Village in the Corozal District is pleading for justice after 22-year-old Alberto Briceño was stabbed and killed by one of two brothers on Saturday night.
Alberto Briceño
The incident played out at the Paraiso Park located just across the street from Briceño’s house. There was a fair and the park was crowded. A few minutes before 10:00 that night, eye witness Cruzita Mendez says she was standing in front of the clinic waiting for the rain to pass, when she noticed that Briceño crossed to go buy a juice.
On his way, Mendez says Briceño passed by the brothers. One was dancing and Briceño seemed to push him, in a friendly manner, and he fell. The other brother upon seeing him fall must have thought he was starting a fight, “but there was no argument, no insults, there was nothing. He just pushed him and then the other beat the late ‘Coco’. The late ‘Coco’ got up and walked towards the Toucan and the same guy pulled him and beat him again…when he fell, I saw him open his pants,” Mendez recalled.
Mendez admitted that she thought Briceño’s attacker was going to rape him but did not suspect he would stab him. “When he opened it, I saw him take it out. When he took it out his little sister reached…she wanted to help but I told her no because I saw him take out the knife to attack her brother. No, I told her and then I saw him stab him (Briceño)”.
His sister spoke with the media and said she was standing by the door of the clinic. She turned around and saw when her brother pushed one of the brothers and how it all unfolded.
She ran towards them, she said, “not too close or too far and I asked him what he was going to do to him. He gave me an ugly look as if to say if I interfere he would kill me too…I thought he was going to do me something… and I saw him lift up his shirt. I asked him not to harm him and I saw him take out something shiny and I knew it was a knife and he started to stab and stab my brother.” The girl adds, “I saw him look at my brother and I knew he wanted to kill him because the look in his eyes was like if he had a demon in him.”
The girl ran home to get her mother who stepped out and recounted her last encounter with her son. “I saw my son came running. He came running and I reached for him and saw he had been stabbed in his back and I lay him down and asked him to help me carry him. He tried but he couldn’t. He just gave me a strange hug.”
He was taken to the hospital where he died, according to police, about 25 minutes after arriving. The 22-year-old was stabbed to the center of the chest, left side of chest, center of the abdomen, three times to his back and also had two cut wounds to the left wrist.
Supt. Dennis Arnold, O.C., Corozal Police
Corozal authorities say they detained the suspects immediately after the incident. The family however is further saddened at the poor support they received from the persons at the fair. Mendez says she ran for help and came across the village Chairman. “I went to tell the Chairman. Chairman, where is the police because they are stabbing a boy, go help him. They just looked at me as if I was crazy, and I will tell it like it is because I am a mother and what happened hurts me. They just stared at me…no one paid attention and went to see what was happening,” Mendez said resentfully.
Briceño’s mother too recalls no one responded to her cries for help. “I started to shout for help and nothing,” she said. She added that she knew he would not make it after she saw his injuries. Today the family mourns Alberto and ask for support to get justice for her son. “My son was mischievous. I don’t paint him as a saint. I just ask for justice or him. That’s all I ask for my son… please, help me and my son,” she said, with her voice breaking.
According to police, the man responsible for stabbing Briceño was only recently released from prison. One of the brothers, the family said, was a friend to Alberto and was socializing with him earlier that evening. Police will be holding an identification parade in Orange Walk.