San Felipe Fire Exposes How the System Failed to Protect a Woman and Child

Police have detained Francisco Godoy in connection with a house fire that killed thirty-five-year-old Angelita Magaña and her six-year-old son, Tishan Godoy, in San Felipe Village, Orange Walk, at around three o’clock this morning.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith said officers found the house fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. “Officers also observed three persons, namely Fransisco Godoy, Miguel Novelo and Shadia Magaña, who had varying degrees of burns to their bodies,” she said. “When the fire was extinguished from the structure, the bodies of Angelita Magaña and Tishan Godoy were discovered.”

Neighbours say the flames spread quickly, and it took over an hour for fire personnel to arrive.

Smith confirmed that Godoy had previously served time for harming Magaña. She said he was released last week Thursday after “pleading guilty to the harm against Magaña.”

Smith added, “I’ve also been advised that Miss Magaña sought to obtain a restraining order on Friday; however, due to the time that she reached the courthouse, this was not able to be facilitated.”

According to Smith, a narrow gap in the judicial process may have given Godoy the opportunity to commit the act. “I think the only reason why there may have been a gap that allowed him to be on the street is because at the time that he went to court on Thursday, he was remanded from April up until that recent time, so I don’t believe that steps would have been made to have his high court bail revoked, given that he was already remanded because of another incident,” Smith said.

“The situation at hand created a window for him, and he took advantage of it,” she added.