The lifeless body of 22-year-old Lee Roy Haylock was found by police in an abandoned lot after midnight on Friday, April 6th north of San Pedro Town. Haylock, a maintenance worker of the San Mateo subdivision, was observed laying on the ground with what appeared to be cut wounds to the throat.
The San Pedro Police were called to the area around 12:30AM, after residents reported noises originating from the abandoned lot. According to the police report, when officers arrived to the area ,they observed Haylock's body face down with cut wounds to the throat. In the immediate area officers retrieved a small knife stained with blood, which is suspected to be the murder weapon.
This marks the third murder for the year on the island.
The San Pedro Sun will have an update when further information is made available.
The forty-ninth murder victim since January is a youth from San Pedro. He was killed in the early hours of this morning on the north side of La Isla Bonita. Just after midnight, twenty-two-year-old Leeroy Haylock was slashed to the throat and left for dead in a bushy, empty lot. There is no information about why Haylock was murdered, but what’s known is that he was out socializing with friends and before he was involved in a fight during which he was killed. News Five’s Andrea Polanco speaks with Haylock’s girlfriend who believes he was murdered by someone he knew.
Twenty-two-year-old Leeroy Haylock was knifed to death around twelve-thirty this morning. Haylock’s throat was slit and he was left for dead in this abandoned lot on northern San Pedro. A noise in the area alerted residents and police to the scene. When they arrived here Haylock was already dead. He was lying face down with a cut to the throat. Police discovered a small knife on the scene which is believed to be the murder weapon. According to Haylock’s girlfriend, he was out in town socializing. She last him around seven on Thursday night.
Maximo says that Haylock didn’t have any problems with anyone recently and that he appeared to be in good spirits on Thursday. But after they spoke later in the night, he traveled up the north coast of the island with people he knew. It was here on the beach front that a fight happened among the men. When the dust settled, Haylock was the sole casualty.
Maximo says that she has no idea why Haylock was killed. Haylock is originally from Ontario Village but he has lived for many years in San Pedro Town. He lived in the San Mateo area and worked in maintenance. We are told that Haylock is known to the police because he has committed robberies and burglaries on the island. At this time police have one man detained and are looking for two others. Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
There was a murder in San Pedro Town last night, the first in 2 months and 1 week. 22 year-old Lee Roy Haylock, who's also been identified to us as "Brian Haylock", was found stabbed to death a few miles north of the island town.
It was a very deliberate and cruel killing with multiple stab wounds and no sign of robbery.
So, it appears to be a personal dispute of some kind which led to his murder. Our news team was out on the island for the most of today, looking for answers, and Daniel Ortiz found out that there were many sides of the man called "Fraud".
22 year-old Leeroy Haylock was stabbed to death here on northern Ambergris Caye, right across the street from The Hotel. It's an area north of San Mateo, where he was residing only briefly.
Residents tell us that this part of the beach front is a favored spot for locals, and it is often used for late night romantic escapades, but last night, it turned into the scene of the crime where Haylock bled to death.
Someone stabbed him 3 times to the lower left abdomen area, 3 more times to the left side of his chest, once to the right side of his back, twice to his hand, and they even slashed his throat. His friends believe that given his personality, his attackers would have had to come as a group to subdue him and end his life. So, they think that the knife wielder had to have had at least 1 accomplice.
One of his friends spoke with us on the condition of anonymity. She told us that she suspects that he was lured to that location by a friend.
"Last night what occurred, I got a call stating that they just took him out of the park, up the coast and we were like that didn't sound good."
"Do you think they lured him, they kidnapped him, they took him against hos will or that he agreed to go with them?"
"I more feel like he agreed to go with the person because he knew the person. He and the person hangs out every day. As far as I hear, I heard that the same guys that he was in an altercation with - those were the guys that send somebody that he knows for him. About a couple days ago he look on us and he told my friend who is his ex - that he wanted to go to church and he wanted to be a changed person. He wants to work and change his life. He looked troubled in his face."
On Haylock's personality and lifestyle, we found those on the island with a wide range of views. His friends refer to him as a "hustler", working as hard as he could to earn a living any way possible.
Some tell us that he may have dabbled in the island's drug underworld, while other say that he was a laborer who made sure to dive headfirst into any paying jobs which came his way.
We were told that he was a calm person, who tried to keep low key. Others friends say that he was "defender", which meant that while he didn't go out looking for trouble, he made sure that his enemies considered very carefully if it was worth it to aggress him openly.
Other residents told us that Haylock was particularly aggrieved when his friend, Alfredo Cowo, was murdered in January. He reportedly even entertained thoughts of retaliation for Cowo's killing.
His friend did acknowledge that he was often questioned by police about crimes on the island.
"We are hustlers you know. We have our ways how we make our money due to the fact that the island has change. They don't give the youths jobs and it's so sad that on the island you can't run and go anywhere when they want you, because when they are coming for you, they are coming. Just a couple days ago I heard that the police took him, I heard that he was at the station. He was a person who was always encounter by police, but he knew how to take himself out."
"We grew up together in Ontario and I had always see the guy as my little brother. Because we both grew up without a father. Most of the youths need guidance and I was older than the guy and I try to encourage him to do the right thing. I didn't know that he died."
But, regardless of his faults, these two friends of his will remember the better aspects of his personality.
"Well majority of the youths are like that in the streets. But I would believe that what you're insinuating is true. Enough times I told him to try do something productive with our lives, because 3 days ago I spoke to him and he had just got his job back with "Tuff Enuff" - he said it's hard to work with the boss, but he says he is trying to hold it down to do something with his life. It really hurts me to know that he died."
"He always have an up-tempo spirit - always feel like we are wasting time sitting down doing nothing. Like something is out there for us to achieve. We kinda grew up with nothing too, so the youth always has a fire to try own something in life."
"I will remember his as person who is kind-hearted - they would not watch anyone go home hungry. I will remember his as a person who is willing to help and I will remember him as a person who will defend himself and anyone who is around him. It's so sad that his life had gone like that. He is not the only one I knew who went just like that. I have a brother who got stabbed last year September because of chaos on the island."
We are informed that Haylock is originally from Ontario Village in the Cayo District. His friends tell us that he has been living out on the island for quite some time now. His most recent landlord told us that he was having a bit of financial difficulties, trying to find the money to pay him for the rent. As you heard, he recently got his job back with his old boss.
According to friends that knew Haylock, they believe that he was attacked by more than one person as he was not an easy person to be subdued in a fight. Others say that Haylock was aggressive and troublesome, friends have reiterated that he was a calm person who would often keep a low profile. His friends also characterized him as a hustler, working hard to try to make a living.
Haylock’s acquaintances and family remain puzzled as to why someone would want to kill him and are hopeful that authorities will soon bring the culprits to justice. Police continue investigating and are calling on the public to come forward with any information that may lead to arrests of the responsible person/s. Haylock is said to have been originally from the Ontario Village in the Cayo District and had been living on Ambergris Caye for several years.
The suspect in the murder of 22 year old Leeroy Haylock, who was killed last week on the island, has been detained. He was detained by Belmopan Police this morning and was handed over to San Pedro Police for questioning.