Belize - Francesca Matus, 52, & Drew De Voursney, 36, murdered, Corozal, 25 Apr 2017

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This is News 5 video for yesterday's newscast:

[video=youtube;a4907gt47jY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4907gt47jY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4907gt47jY[/video]
 
This story is just crazy. I have to go back and reread this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
A thought just crossed my mind. If JD lived in the main floor of FM's home, and according a Toronto Sun article today (posted a little ways up) JD & FM were "best friends", if he had gotten himself into hot water related to this alleged "casino theft" (allegedly hired by some of the owners of a local casino to remove some property from it), I'm wondering if JD would have attended the 'farewell party' for FM & DD at Scotty's Bar? You would think so? And if so, given then he lived in the same home and we know FM & DD drove to the bar in her Isuzu Rodeo, isn't it possible that JD caught a ride with them to the party/bar? Due to his dealings with this casino stuff, could he have been the intended target.....with the perp/perps watching him, saw him drive to the bar with FM & DD and when they left they bar the perp/perps assumed that JD was with them? Or maybe he was with them but managed to escape?...but perhaps he was involved (the casino stuff) in something that wasn't totally above board so it's not like he could call the local police to report that some "bad guys" had carjacked them but he was able to escape?

I did see on FM's FB page (which is now a Memorial page), one of the first pictures on it is a group pic of FM, DD, the friend whose name starts with M (the one who was supposed to driver her to the airport/has a former cop)....and another man that sure looks a lot like JD (guy in the far left of the pic). It could be a pic from anytime but it made me wonder if it was from the night of her Scotty's Bar farewell.

I wonder if JD is connected to the murders but not such that he had any hand in them....but that FM & DD were targeted because of him.......him being a close friend of hers, him living in the lower level of her home. Maybe someone killed FM & DD to "show him" they meant business and what could happen to him?
 
RandomName479 said:
Hmmm....def some confusion over this.....because today he was named and Toronto Sun reports that he will be charged....not sure what to believe....

http://www.torontosun.com/2017/05/05/ontario-man-reportedly-to-be-charged-in-belize-slayings-idd

I agree about the motive though....

And has anyone elaborated on the "threats" FM was supposed to have received? So much missing (and bad) info coming out of Belize....
Click to expand...
The only thing I can add was that the threats were NOT death threats.

I read it yesterday in MSM and can't find the link now. I will keep looking.

HTH
 
Wondergirl said:
The only thing I can add was that the threats were NOT death threats.

I read it yesterday in MSM and can't find the link now. I will keep looking.

HTH
Click to expand...
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/...stioned-in-belize-death-of-toronto-woman.html
Police previously told local media they were investigating threats Matus had received before she was killed.

Supt. Dennis Arnold said these weren’t death threats and that Matus never reported having received them to authorities. Martinez said Thursday there was no documented evidence that threats were made against Matus.
“A threat does not make somebody a suspect because they happen literally on a daily basis,” Martinez said. “But if there’s anything that ties somebody to a threat with action, then that person, of course, will be brought in.”
Click to expand...
http://www.saultstar.com/2017/05/04/tenant-in-custody-in-death-of-former-sault-woman
Cops revealed that Matus had been threatened in the days before her murder but never went to police with her fears.

Detectives are working on a number of theories, including robbery, jealousy and a possible real estate deal that may have gone sideways.
“We are looking at some threats that were made,” Sr. Supt. Dennis Arnold told Channel 5, adding the threats were made against Matus, a real estate investor.
He would not specify if the threats were against the vivacious mother of two’s life.
“Just open threats. I believe if a report of that threat to Miss Francesca (had been made), maybe she would be alive today,” he said.
Arnold added: “I believe that members in the community, their community, know exactly what was happening.”
Click to expand...
 
So far, it seems that reports of threats, are from Belize LE, wondering how they knew about them if Francesca did not report them?
imo, speculation.
 
FBI arriving in Belize to investigate expat double murder
Posted: Thursday, May 4, 2017. 8:56 p.m. CST.
By BBN Staff: Exclusive reports to BBN indicate that members of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be assisting the Belize Police Department with the investigation into the double murder of Canadian, Francesca Matus and American, Drew De Voursney in Corozal.
Click to expand...
According to reports from WSB TV Atlanta, Drew De Voursney’s younger brother David is in Belize now to stay as close to the investigation as he can. He has also reportedly sought help from American authorities in this case.

The US State Department says it is monitoring the investigation by Belizean authorities
Click to expand...
https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2017/05/04/breaking-fbi-arriving-belize-investigate-expat-double-murder/
 
Canadian charged in robbery of casino: Belize police
But the charge "is totally different" from Belizean police's investigation into the deaths of a Canadian woman and her boyfriend.

The charge is in connection to an alleged robbery of a Placencia casino, according to Martinez. The Canadian man was also given bail and is no longer in police custody.

[...]

“He knew the couple and probably he associated with them,” Martinez said, adding it was unclear if he had seen Matus and DeVoursney the night they went missing.

“He’s not under custody of police anymore but he is still a person of interest and he can be re-arrested if they need him. The case is ongoing.”

Martinez said he didn’t expect police to lay charges in connection to their death on Friday.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten to that place yet,” he said.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/05/canadian-charged-in-robbery-of-casino-belize-police.html
 
Got to thinking about what has been reported about the man taken into custody. Don't know if I'm remembering correctly, but thought he was reported to be close in age to FM. So perhaps he was rebuffed and jealous/furious over her relationship with a younger man. Whatever the motive, it seems to be very personal.


MaryG12 said:
Weird - if theft was not the motive - then what was the motive?

:thinking:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/couple-fo...-canadian-210605129--abc-news-topstories.html
Click to expand...
 
I don't know what to think.

Belize is a very small country with a population of just over 300k. As a tiny country it is pretty much impossible to attract any industry so, in light of the fact that the country has tremendous areas of beauty, tourism is a key element to support the economy. On the other hand, Belize is surrounded by countries in the drug trade. With many citizens struggling to survive, many are attracted to crime.

Now that they have a high profile murder on their hands it would be in their interest to "blame the expats" for the murder of their own. And, no doubt many LE are corrupt due to their circumstances.

Having said that, many of the expats attracted to a low-key, somewhat under-the-radar country are trying to escape something. I don't mean to imply that all of them are, as many, no doubt, just want to live a simple life, removed from extreme commercialization and over the top social expectations of the US and Canada. But in this type of environment it would not be surprising to find an above average proportion of people who don't fit into society, some of whom might be more prone to crime or more subject to crime.

The fact (according to LE) that the victims weren't robbed leads me to believe there was an expat involved. In other murder cases in Belize, how many times were the bodies hidden? The other cases tended to be kill (steal) and run, with no worry about the bodies.


So, I call it a tie. Belizean LE could be desperately trying to sweep this under the rug, to either appease locals who need the tourism trade, or to cover for corrupt local criminals. OR, a not-quite-socially-balanced expat could well have tried to solve a perceived wrong or risk to wealth.

In the end the people who suffer are the family and loved ones of the victims and the everyday people of Belize who just want things to go smoothly...who just need things to go smoothly.
 
Today's Channel 5 Belize Newscast

Summary:

  • The international investigating team were seen processing the vehicle

  • JD says he has been living in Belize for the past 2-1/2 years with his girlfriend and 2 kids

  • Accused of the theft of over $57,000 worth of electronics from the Placencia Casino, which occurred earlier this year, and a second charge of handling stolen goods. Items were retrieved from his home, and returned back to Placencia.

  • He said he's a building contractor by profession, his attorney wasn't able to make it to court in time. He said it was a job matter, it was him doing his job, and he was wrongly accused.

  • JD said FM was a very good friend of his, and he is absolutely not involved in her murder.
Click to expand...

More at link: Watch starting at around 10:50 to 16:00

https://www.facebook.com/News5Live/videos/1282332128554322/
 
Snoopster said:
I don't know what to think.

Belize is a very small country with a population of just over 300k. As a tiny country it is pretty much impossible to attract any industry so, in light of the fact that the country has tremendous areas of beauty, tourism is a key element to support the economy. On the other hand, Belize is surrounded by countries in the drug trade. With many citizens struggling to survive, many are attracted to crime.

Now that they have a high profile murder on their hands it would be in their interest to "blame the expats" for the murder of their own. And, no doubt many LE are corrupt due to their circumstances.

Having said that, many of the expats attracted to a low-key, somewhat under-the-radar country are trying to escape something. I don't mean to imply that all of them are, as many, no doubt, just want to live a simple life, removed from extreme commercialization and over the top social expectations of the US and Canada. But in this type of environment it would not be surprising to find an above average proportion of people who don't fit into society, some of which who could more prone to crime or more subject to crime.

The fact (according to LE) that the victims weren't robbed leads me to believe there was an expat involved. In other murder cases in Belize, how many times were the bodies hidden? The other cases tended to be kill (steal) and run, with no worry about the bodies.


So, I call it a tie. Belizean LE could be desperately trying to sweep this under the rug, to either appease locals who need the tourism trade, or to cover for corrupt local criminals. OR, a not-quite-socially-balanced expat could well have tried to solve a perceived wrong or risk to wealth.

In the end the people who suffer are the family and loved ones of the victims and the everyday people of Belize who just want things to go smoothly...who just need things to go smoothly.
Click to expand...
RBBM. Good post.
In other murder cases in Belize that we've read about, victims were murdered in their own home, no need to hide their bodies.

Police has stated they believe MS & DD were dumped at the location were they were found, so that would mean they were murdered somewhere else.

That could mean they were taken to someone else's home/property, or they drove themselves there. Just speculating.
My point is, that's why their bodies had to be disposed of/hidden.

In the interview, police said the vehicle was clean, and made me wonder if the bodies were transported in a different vehicle. I'm glad the FBI team is in Belize processing the car, and hope they find some dna/evidence.
 
So glad I found this discussion! I've been following it since about page 4. I personally knew Drew and grew up with him in Nashville.
I haven't talked to him or seen him in a few years so when my dad called and said he was missing in belize I was a bit surprised. On the other hand I figured he just went off the map for a few days, who knows. Until the weekend when the car was found and then Monday their bodies were discovered. It devistating to get news that a childhood friend was murdered. Drew is 6 years older than me. It hit me a lot harder than I expected. I looked up to him. He was one of a few older guys that would take us younger guys (in our youth group) camping and climbing and repelling. Hell we flipped his first car on it's side in a field on a camping weekend. One trip I remember very well is a repelling trip, my dad took our youth group to the Twin Arches to repell and got kicked off because we never got a permit. Whoops!! Anyways! There was a bunch of us there younger and older, one of the older guys grabbed me by my feet and started swinging me around by my ankles. He didn't realize it but I was close to a concrete pick nick table. Well the next time around my head was headed straight for the corner. Drew to the rescue! He dove over and basically hit me to make my head miss the table. Told the guy who was doing it in more words he's an idiot and pay attention.

You never expect to experience this kind of situation on a personal level. I've only read and seen movies about this type of stuff. Everyone here has the right to their own opinion. And some people's opinions and views on things make a lot of sense. But all of the information that we get about the events in the case, we gather from media, so hard to trust. I've seen two or three different explanations for almost every step of this terrible murder.
Hooefully some light will be shed soon. For Drews mom especially!

Well sorry for the life story and the small rant. I more or less just wanted to let y'all know that this site and you guys are awesome. It's kind of eased my mind through this not knowing what happened. Just being able to read new content and see other people's views and opinions on what happened is nice.

I may not post much after this just because I know what you guys know. Only David and Brandon probably know what's really going on.
 
Boone said:
So glad I found this discussion! I've been following it since about page 4. I personally knew Drew and grew up with him in Nashville.
I haven't talked to him or seen him in a few years so when my dad called and said he was missing in belize I was a bit surprised. On the other hand I figured he just went off the map for a few days, who knows. Until the weekend when the car was found and then Monday their bodies were discovered. It devistating to get news that a childhood friend was murdered. Drew is 6 years older than me. It hit me a lot harder than I expected. I looked up to him. He was one of a few older guys that would take us younger guys (in our youth group) camping and climbing and repelling. Hell we flipped his first car on it's side in a field on a camping weekend. One trip I remember very well is a repelling trip, my dad took our youth group to the Twin Arches to repell and got kicked off because we never got a permit. Whoops!! Anyways! There was a bunch of us there younger and older, one of the older guys grabbed me by my feet and started swinging me around by my ankles. He didn't realize it but I was close to a concrete pick nick table. Well the next time around my head was headed straight for the corner. Drew to the rescue! He dove over and basically hit me to make my head miss the table. Told the guy who was doing it in more words he's an idiot and pay attention.

You never expect to experience this kind of situation on a personal level. I've only read and seen movies about this type of stuff. Everyone here has the right to their own opinion. And some people's opinions and views on things make a lot of sense. But all of the information that we get about the events in the case, we gather from media, so hard to trust. I've seen two or three different explanations for almost every step of this terrible murder.
Hooefully some light will be shed soon. For Drews mom especially!

Well sorry for the life story and the small rant. I more or less just wanted to let y'all know that this site and you guys are awesome. It's kind of eased my mind through this not knowing what happened. Just being able to read new content and see other people's views and opinions on what happened is nice.

I may not post much after this just because I know what you guys know. Only David and Brandon probably know what's really going on.
Click to expand...

Hello Boone, and welcome. So sorry, though, that you're here under such sad circumstances. It was really nice to read about your memories of Drew, thank you so much for sharing them with us. Sorry also for your loss as well. I'm sure on some levels if must feel surreal.
 
It's extremely surreal! He truly was someone that everyone loved! Like I said I haven't talked to or seen him in years. It sucks that this is what made me realize how much of an impact he made on me from when I was a kid.
 
Boone said:
So glad I found this discussion! I've been following it since about page 4. I personally knew Drew and grew up with him in Nashville.
I haven't talked to him or seen him in a few years so when my dad called and said he was missing in belize I was a bit surprised. On the other hand I figured he just went off the map for a few days, who knows. Until the weekend when the car was found and then Monday their bodies were discovered. It devistating to get news that a childhood friend was murdered. Drew is 6 years older than me. It hit me a lot harder than I expected. I looked up to him. He was one of a few older guys that would take us younger guys (in our youth group) camping and climbing and repelling. Hell we flipped his first car on it's side in a field on a camping weekend. One trip I remember very well is a repelling trip, my dad took our youth group to the Twin Arches to repell and got kicked off because we never got a permit. Whoops!! Anyways! There was a bunch of us there younger and older, one of the older guys grabbed me by my feet and started swinging me around by my ankles. He didn't realize it but I was close to a concrete pick nick table. Well the next time around my head was headed straight for the corner. Drew to the rescue! He dove over and basically hit me to make my head miss the table. Told the guy who was doing it in more words he's an idiot and pay attention.

You never expect to experience this kind of situation on a personal level. I've only read and seen movies about this type of stuff. Everyone here has the right to their own opinion. And some people's opinions and views on things make a lot of sense. But all of the information that we get about the events in the case, we gather from media, so hard to trust. I've seen two or three different explanations for almost every step of this terrible murder.
Hooefully some light will be shed soon. For Drews mom especially!

Well sorry for the life story and the small rant. I more or less just wanted to let y'all know that this site and you guys are awesome. It's kind of eased my mind through this not knowing what happened. Just being able to read new content and see other people's views and opinions on what happened is nice.

I may not post much after this just because I know what you guys know. Only David and Brandon probably know what's really going on.
Click to expand...

What a beautiful post Boone, thanks for sharing your memories of Drew.
Although the circumstances that led you here are sad, wishing you a warm welcome to Ws and to this thread.
:Welcome1:
 
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