ComPol Addresses First Three Murders of 2025

Within the first nine days of 2025, Belize has recorded three murders. Despite this, the Belize Police Department has kept the annual murder count under 100 for the past two years, according to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams.

Williams told News 5 on Thursday that many murders are unpredictable. “While yes, we’re at three murders so far this year, it is three murders too much,” he said.

He also stated that the police continue working to address the root causes of violence through various interventions. “We can’t prevent everything, and we do hope that people do exercise some patience, adjust their attitudes, and always try to resolve conflicts by other means other than the use of lethal force,” Williams said.

The first murder of 2025 involved 59-year-old fisherman Godfrey Hyde, found dead with gunshot wounds on Turneffe Atoll on January 4. Police suspect the crime may be drug-related. On January 8, George Brown, known as “Guru,” was fatally stabbed in Hopkins Village by his brother-in-law, Steven Flores, over a jacket dispute. Flores was arrested and charged with murder. The third murder occurred just yesterday, on January 9, when Giovanni Ramirez, a key witness in the 2024 Oscar Selgado trial, was shot dead in Belize City by a gunman on a motorcycle.