Belmopan Man Shot Dead After Domestic Dispute Turns Violent

A mother is mourning after she watched her son, Wilson Hernandez, shot to death yesterday.  It is an incident that broke the usually quiet Sunday morning in the capital city.  Love News understands that the common-law-wife, 37-year-old, Dalia Valles, had gone out socializing and did not come home until five in the morning.  Her partner, 28-year-old Hernandez, had confronted her with allegations of cheating.  According to Hernandez’ mom, Blanca, her son showed her an opened pack of condoms inside Valles’ purse and told her one was missing from the box.  The mom says she tried to talk to both her son and Valles to calm down, but they would not listen.  We join our correspondent, LJay Wade who has been following this story.

Ljay Wade, Belmopan Correspondent: That’s the mother of now deceased 28 year old Wilson Hernandez, a father of two and prominent businessman in Belmopan. Hernandez owned and operated the Selfie Lounge in Belmapan which opened last year and was recently closed for renovations. On Sunday, Hernandez was fatally shot once to the body, reportedly by his own niece during an altercation. Hernandez was reportedly at home with family members when an argument broke out. Police say that Hernandez got into a domestic dispute with his common-law wife and that is when Hernandez’s niece intervened. Hernandez’s niece got a hold of the common-law wife’s licensed firearm and fired a single shot in Hernandez’s direction, fatally wounding him. 

Blanca Hernandez, Mother of Deceased: “Investigations revealed that Wilson Hernandez had a domestic dispute with his common-law wife and he threatened her. She has a license firearm. Thereafter she passed the firearm to her niece who fired a single shot towards Wilson Hernandez causing his fatal injury. An investigation is being carried out. This matter will be forwarded to DPP for directives. The firearm was seized. Both females are in custody in Belmopan. The matter will be dealt with by the DPP. They are saying that there was a domestic dispute and he assaulted them.”

Ljay Wade, Belmopan Correspondent: While the two females involved have since been detained, the family of Hernandez is still reeling from the incident. According to Hernandez’s mom, her son was not the aggressor and the argument started because her son’s common-law wife wanted to use his car. 

Blanca Hernandez, Mother of Deceased:  “My son came out and said, Mom, I told him to take the key away from her. This woman is going to steal the car from me. No, son I said she’ll bring it back. Let her have it. And he told me he didn’t do it. He tapped on the car window and she rolled down the window and asked what he wanted. When I heard that the fight  was already happening there. I head over to the car they’re already going around, round and round and round they’re going. I come, I tell him, please…I was still walking with the bag and I don’t know what time I went to lie down. And I tell him, look, I tell him, don’t argue anymore. Son, I tell him, go fix your inside, please. And you too. But I didn’t notice that the niece had the weapon on her. The car over there, she put the bags there and they started going round and round and round and everything. I came, turned around here and got nervous from those fighting. I said, calm down, calm down, pulling here and there. So my son went over there, stood in front. When I’m here, standing I didn’t come to. Just the girl went to pass through here behind. When I’m standing like this “calm down, calm down.” I tell them. So I looked at his outstretched hand, well I only saw a little very small black thing, the thing of the gun. And I saw that he just did like this and shot. When he shot, I just screamed, “what did you do?” I said to him, when I told him like that my son went staggering. He did it like this, looked up and staggered and staggered and fell. When he fell, blood came out of his ear. When blood came out of his ear, I screamed for help help.  I went to settle him down. My little girl helped me. Marilyn helped me in my daughter’s arms. She died. When I tried to pull his arm to sit him down for the blood draw, he just looked at me then at my son and slowly closed his eyes without saying anything.”

Ljay Wade, Belmopan Correspondent: Police say that they have passed on the case to the DPP to determine how to best move forward with the charges. Hernandez’s mom says that she hopes the case results in justice for her son. 

Blanca Hernandez, Mother of Deceased:  “They’re at the hospital. I was praying to God in the car for a miracle. But when we finally arrived I felt that I no longer….went inside, and the doctor tells me that there’s no hope, that they did everything possible. But his mouth was full of blood. I think it was that he drowned.So when I left, I no longer felt like it was me walking. The pain and pain. When he told me that my son was dead. I feel like I don’t anymore. Because with so much investigation, I feel like I don’t have the strength anymore.  I feel like my head is going to explode from the pain because of so much research. This morning they came again and I don’t know. I don’t know if I should just leave this as it is because I entered the body to the grave and I have to let God take care of them. I don’t ask for justice for her because I’m not a resentful woman.”

Reporting for Love News, Ljay Wade.

According to ACP Hilberto Romero, the investigators are relying on the advice of the DPP on whether to lay charges against 21-year-old Christy Guzman, who reportedly fired the licensed Compact Sig Sauer 9mm pistol.