‘After the Murder of Albert Lima’ is a daring and valiant documentary about one man’s insatiable quest to bring his father’s murderer to justice
‘After the Murder of Albert Lima’ is a documentary that chronicles Paul Lima’s journey to avenge the death of his father, Albert Lima. Albert Lima was the son of Cuban immigrants, a businessman, and a lawyer who was brutally murdered in Roatan, Honduras in 2000. Albert took frequents trips down to Roatan and became very good friends with a local man named Martin Colleman in the 1970s. Martin’s family owned the only bread-making bakery on the island of Roatan at the time but the bakery was in threat of being seized by the bank if they did not come up with $84,000. Albert graciously loaned $84,000 to the Colleman family without interest and the father of the Colleman family agreed to pay back the loan little by little. Business between Albert and the Colleman family ran smoothly without incident until the patriarch of the Colleman family passed away. From there, things took a very dark turn.
After the death of the Colleman patriarch, Martin’s two brothers, Oral and Byron, refused to continue the loan repayments to Albert. They felt the $84,000 deal was between Albert and their father, not them. And with their father no longer there to facilitate peace, the relationship between Albert and the Colleman family soon turned deadly as the Colleman family ventured into the cocaine business. Albert took the Colleman brothers to court to legally force them to repay the loan and he won. The problem was the law meant very little in Honduras where gangs pretty much ran the country and government officials were corrupt. Albert went down to the bakery in person to confront Oral and Byron and the two brothers brutally beat Albert, took him into a wooded area and shot him twice.
Byron was found dead two days later and Martin did not play an active role in Albert’s murder as he ran and hid during the brutal killing out of fear for his life. The only person left to be brought to justice was Oral. Oral was arrested for the murder of Albert but was soon let go after bribing the judge who presided over his case. Another warrant was later issued for Oral’s arrest but under the caveat that he must first be found and captured. Martin tried hard to help the Lima family seek justice and find Oral but he was shot to death in his own home by gang members who worked for Oral. With little help from a corrupt government that lacked sufficient resources to find Oral even if they wanted to — Paul, Albert’s son, soon found himself to be the lead investigator in his father’s murder.
Paul Lima was only 20 when his father died. From the very beginning of his adulthood, Paul was tasked with the duty to bring his father’s murderer to justice and bring closure to his family.”When we found out my father’s body had been found, first my mother let out a sound that I will never forget. It was a sound that was like a lion when it roars. It was just this sickening sound and she collapsed into my arms. And I remembered at that moment, taking all of her weight and it was literally me holding her up… and I never felt that weight leave ever.” Committed to healing his family from this tragedy, Paul goes to great and desperate measures to find and capture Oral Colleman.
‘After the Murder of Albert Lima’ doesn’t feel like your typical documentary. The documentary feels so much like a crime thriller that you’re constantly forgetting you’re watching real life. The film begins with Paul and two bounty hunters he’s enlisted, brainstorming about how to drug, tase, and kidnap Oral. Paul and the bounty hunters fly down to Honduras and stay in Roatan for three days where they stake out the Colleman family business and come face to face with the man they think they’re looking for. This is certainly no easy task and everyone involved in bringing Oral to justice is risking their lives. In only a matter of three days, there are up and downs, twists and turns, disappointments and reignited hopes. Paul finds himself in a constant struggle to take matters into his own hands or rely on the law to carry out justice. ‘After the Murder of Albert Lima’ is a harrowing and nerve-racking documentary that will leave you on the edge of your seat as you watch the emotional ordeal the Lima family has suffered for over a decade finally come to an end.
‘After the Murder of Albert Lima’ is executive produced by Meredith Vieira, produced by Amy Rapp, and directed by Aengus James.
