One man has been found guilty of the 2017 murder of 44-year-old Jose Felix Ayuso, Jr. after appearing in the Supreme Court before Justice Colin Williams. Vildo Lorenzo Westby, 32, was charged for the murder which took place on San Pedro on February 2, 2017. The trial against Westby kicked off on July 20, 2020 and just days later, Justice Colin Williams found him guilty after hearing from as many as eleven witnesses in the case.
Crown Counsel for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution was Senior Crown Counsel Shanice Lovell. During trial, the prosecution’s team submitted that on the day of the murder, Westby had visited Ayuso at his home to get some money and when Ayuso refused, Westby inflicted stab wounds. Westby had conceded to stabbing Ayuso but gave a sworn testimony in court that he was simply acting in self-defense. He claimed that Ayuso grabbed his private part and that prompted him to stab Ayuso with a bicycle spoke, which he had in his possession. The two men then got into a struggle and that is when Ayuso allegedly reached for a screw driver which he held against Westby. Westby says that he took the screwdriver away from Ayuso and that is when he realized that he was over Ayuso, stabbing him. He left Ayuso’s home in shock and cleaned the blood off on a shirt before hiding the items and confessing to the murder to this ex-common-law wife.
Despite time, Justice Colin Williams, in handing down his verdict, explained to Westby that he used excessive force against the victim. He said that he was not convinced that his actions were justified and that is why Westby was found guilty of murder. Sentencing in this matter has been deferred to September 16, 2020, more than a month away.
Ayuso was found dead inside his home on the island by his sister and brother-in-law. He had been stabbed more than fifteen times according to a medical report. He was stabbed to multiple parts of his body with the fatal injuries having penetrated his skull and neck.
After Ayuso’s murder, Westby had absconded but was later handed over to Belizean authorities from Interpol from Mexico. He was not charged for murder until September 2018. In March 2019, he was indicted on a charge of murder at the Supreme Court.
