Why Was Godfrey Hyde Murdered? 

Police have not been able to establish a motive for the first murder of 2025. 59-year-old Belize City fisherman Godfrey Hyde was found dead on Turneffe Atoll over the weekend. He had been shot to death. 

The Belize City fisherman had been working alone at the fishing camp when his body was discovered by 52-year-old Fedrick Dougal. Dougal had arrived around 6 a.m. on Saturday to deliver supplies and alerted the Belize Coast Guard after finding Hyde’s body. 

During a police briefing this afternoon, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero said, “Information is that the caretaker of the island was there for a while and someone brought supplies to him. After which the body was found.”

When asked if robbery was a possible motive, Romero stated, “Nothing has been established as missing.” Authorities have also not identified any prior threats or conflicts involving Hyde.

While the area where the murder occurred is not typically a focus of patrols, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, said that “Tuneffe itself has different characters with different groups that would normally fight over fishing turf.”