Inter-office basketball player Dwayne Albert Davis, 31, of # 16 First St. Belize City, has been arrested and charged with murder for the death of Dr. Ivan Garcia.
Dr. Garcia was discovered by his housekeeper on Monday morning, May 18, when she went to work. He was lying on his bedroom floor, bludgeoned over the head, and dead.
Davis was brought before Senior Magistrate, Sharon Frazer on Thursday, June 21.
Belize City Police charged Davis, an employee of Tuff E’Nuff Tours, with murder after he handed himself over and gave them a statement in which he allegedly confessed to the June 18 murder.
Davis appeared in court undefended and Magistrate Frazer explained that the charge of murder is not an offence for which he would be required to enter a plea.
She remanded him to the Belize Central Prison, until his next court date on July 23.
Dr. Garcia, who worked at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Emergency Room, lived in the quiet neighbourhood of Belama at Guava Street.
Police Pathologist, Dr. Mario Estradra Bran has certified that the cause of death was asphyxia due to fracture of the right tyriod cartilage due to strangulation. The postmortem examination revealed head injuries as well.
Dr. Garcia’s murder has led to the protest stoppage of all elective surgery at the K.H.M.H. by its doctors whose union has indicated that only serious emergency cases would be dealt with.
Dr. Garcia came to Belize from Guatemala and has been employed at the K.H.M.H. for the last ten years.
He will be buried in his homeland, reports say.
