Agripina Coc
The brutal murder and probable rape of the elderly woman from the village of San Pedro, Columbia has sparked tremendous grief, outrage and fear. The nude body of sixty-one year old Agripina Coc was found at around seven-thirty on Saturday evening by family members. She had been chopped to the head, and because of the state of the body when it was found, it is believed that she was raped. Residents of the small peaceful community in the Toledo District have risen up in force, and along with the Police, are hunting for the man they believe is responsible for the murder of Coc. Our News Five team has been following the terrible tragedy and has the story.
Mike Rudon, Reporting
Agripina Coc left home at around two pm Saturday afternoon, heading to the store to buy groceries. At six she hadn’t returned, and since that was unusual for the quiet, Christian woman, her family members started searching for her at around six pm. At seven-thirty, her daughter-in-law made the gruesome discovery at this spot at the southern entrance to the village.
Resident, San Pedro Columbia
“So we start search, search, search and we ask the people to help. And we call the nine-one-one police station asking for assistance to help us do the search. We kept on searching and we find the body and we called them back to come get the body…sometime around nine-thirty.”
Francisco Coc, Husband of Murder Victim
“They no allow me to go and see. I just pay respect. When they pick her up t take her to the PG Hospital, that’s where I get to see her with a big chop on her head…on her right forehead here and all the way to the back.”
Francisco Coc
Agripina Coc was found nude, the groceries she had purchased at the shop scattered around her…covered in blood. Her body was transported to the Punta Gorda morgue by Police. But why would somebody harm the woman who by all accounts bothered no-one and lived a good life?
Francisco Coc
“Probably they thought or think I have money and they thought that she was carrying a lot of money so that’s why they did that. Or carnal knowledge [rape] because I found my wife naked.”
The murder of Coc has united the village, and angered them. Their rage also has a target – a young man from the village whom they say constantly harassed the women. Villagers have been hunting for him since Saturday, and are not waiting around for Police to find him. Their faith in the Police is somewhat lacking because they claim the scene was poorly processed from the start.
Resident, San Pedro Columbia
“All they came to do is to cut the wire, pick up the body and they fly back. And the evidence was there. The groceries were full of blood and the clip that she uses is right on the ground and they also had a rag that was there and these police didn’t collect all the evident. They want to know more about it but then they didn’t do their job.”
Resident, San Pedro Columbia
“Everybody ya da family, so we really need justice on the real side. Justice dah weh we need. We got kids weh go dah school and from yah to the village dah about a mile and we need fi we safety; that dah weh we need.”
Florencio Coc
Florencio Coc, Son of Murder Victim
“I think what they did to my mother, I don’t like it. And I think lotta things to do to this guy here but he is hiding. I hope police catch him becuase it is bad whathe doing; chancing an old lady.”
The hunt for the suspected killer is motivated by rage, but it is also fuelled by fear. The brutal murder of Agripina Coc has brought home the realization that none of the women in the community are safe.
Resident, San Pedro Columbia
“I feel afraid because nobody want to come late right now. Because most of the time around the creek out, you can see them sometimes looking at you. You give a report to the police and they say they will look into it and when you see nothing happens and they just leave it like that. And we tired of it; we need them man behind bars cause we noh need them kind of people to be out because we have kids.”
Villagers believe that the murderer is hiding nearby, and they intend to deliver him to justice, dead or alive. Mike Rudon for News Five.
Police have not named the man being sought for the murder, so we have withheld his name also. Villagers tell us that he has been in trouble with the Police before, and is also known to harass elderly women in the community. At least seven women including a minor have lost their lives to crime and violence since the beginning of the year.
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