22-year-old Brandon Anderson and a minor, who were charged for the murder of Canadian Filmmaker Matthiew Klinck were acquitted of the charges of November 27th and set free. The duo appeared before Justice Antoinette Moore at the Belmopan City Supreme Court where it was determined there was insufficient evidence to convict the pair for murder.
Attorney Leroy Banner represented the case challenging the validity of a statement against the accused, in which the Crown (prosecution) said that a caution statement given to the police by Anderson proved that he incriminated himself. Banner told the court that according to the Commissioner of Police’s rule that came into effect on January 1, 2016, the proper procedure was to video record the caution statement, which was not done on Anderson’s case. Banner advocated for the minor who was detained along with Anderson. He alleges that police had no reason to suspect that they had anything to do with Klinck’s murder. Additionally, Anderson was reportedly told by police to give them a statement and in return, the younger suspect would be released.
Justice Moore dismissed the Crown’s evidence (Anderson’s statement) leaving them only with the fact that $4,000 had been found at Anderson’s residence. This money was believed to belong to Klinck, and the motive of his murder was deemed to be robbery. However, Justice Moore decided that there was not enough proof to warrant a conviction of murder and the duo were released.
Klinck was brutally stabbed to death early in January 2016 at his residence in Selena Village, outside of Spanish Lookout, Cayo District. According to reports, his lifeless body was found outside his residence by some friends who came looking for him. Due to the state of the body, a post-mortem had to be carried out on site. In the examination carried out by Dr. Mario Estradabran, it was noted that Klinck had suffered several stab wounds to the face, neck and upper body with a deadly stab to the left side of the neck. The cause of death was certified as “Hypovolemic shock due to internal and external Haemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds”.
The caretaker, Edwin Paz, of the house where Klinck was murdered, indicated that Klinck had been house-sitting for some weeks. Paz told police that he did not notice anything strange in the area, but he stated that the assailants gained entry to the property through another area.
Klinck worked on international filming projects and wanted to create a filming industry in Belize. He was the director of La Isla Bonita Telenovela which featured local actors of San Pedro Town. He was also well known for his movie that was filmed entirely in Belize, The Curse of the Xtabai. As many knew him, he was enthusiastic about Belize’s Film Industry and hoped that one day Belize be recognized internationally for its film talent.