Bail Granted for Woman Charged with Murder in Jasmine Petillo Case

The High Court of Belize has granted bail for Shereema Neal, who was charged with the murder of 17-year-old Jasmine Petillo. Neal, a mother of six children, appeared in court today before Justice Ricardo Sandcroft for a case management hearing. Apart from granting Neal bail in the sum of twenty-thousand dollars, the court also appointed attorney Paulette Elrinton to represent Neal in the case, due to the severity of the charge. Her trial has been set to commence on September 28. Accusations against Neal are that Neal was one of several people involved in Petillo’s brutal murder back in 2016. Petillo was stabbed fifty-seven times and her body was wrapped in a sheet and then thrown in a ditch. While police have sought several others for the murder, to date only Neal has been formally charged in connection with the incident.