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

[nanosec]

So many interesting theories.

Some observations as noted above:

A facebook user is saying that JD owned Matus rent money

I am also seeing in his Linkedin that he has/had a construction company in Barrie.
Enerwise Inc. (not to be confused with Enerwise Global)

The company website is non existent and further digging brought this

[h=1]Local Electrical Contractor Available for Hire![/h]Enerwise Electrical is a full service licensed ESA Electrical Contractor. We have a master electrician and electrical apprentice on staff. We provide a professional level of service for the commercial, residential and industrial sectors. From small kitchen and bathroom renos to full blown new construction, Enerwise Electrical, and Enerwise Construction are the easy choice. Find out why! Call, click or email today for your free quotations. http://www.Enerwise.ca 705 792 4300 ( Office ) 705 826 4789 ( Electrical ) 1 888 868 7188 ( TollFree) Located at 75 Bradford Street, Barrie, Ontario. Hours of Operation
Mon – Fri
8AM – 5 PM S-S Closed
[h=3]Date Listed: 02-Mar-12[/h][h=3]Last Edited : 02-Mar-12[/h][h=3]Address : Barrie, ON, Canada[/h]
The number just rings and rings, no answer nothing. I am convinced this guy was the owner of a construction company in name only. His last address on 411.ca of 75 Bradford Street is ambiguous as it gets.
Streetview

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/75...10b190ca!8m2!3d44.383313!4d-79.693638!6m1!1e1

I think the police had good reason to look at this guy, if anything his background or credentials bear further scrutiny.

 

[otto]

This is one of those murders where you wish you could turn back time.
It shouldn't have happened, but it was obvious from the beginning that it was not a robbery, and that it was not about Drew.

Who did Francesca piss off?

 

[otto]

So many interesting theories.

Some observations as noted above:

A facebook user is saying that JD owned Matus rent money

I am also seeing in his Linkedin that he has/had a construction company in Barrie.
Enerwise Inc. (not to be confused with Enerwise Global)

The company website is non existent and further digging brought this

[h=1]Local Electrical Contractor Available for Hire![/h]Enerwise Electrical is a full service licensed ESA Electrical Contractor. We have a master electrician and electrical apprentice on staff. We provide a professional level of service for the commercial, residential and industrial sectors. From small kitchen and bathroom renos to full blown new construction, Enerwise Electrical, and Enerwise Construction are the easy choice. Find out why! Call, click or email today for your free quotations. http://www.Enerwise.ca 705 792 4300 ( Office ) 705 826 4789 ( Electrical ) 1 888 868 7188 ( TollFree) Located at 75 Bradford Street, Barrie, Ontario. Hours of Operation
Mon – Fri
8AM – 5 PM S-S Closed
[h=3]Date Listed: 02-Mar-12[/h][h=3]Last Edited : 02-Mar-12[/h][h=3]Address : Barrie, ON, Canada[/h]
The number just rings and rings, no answer nothing. I am convinced this guy was the owner of a construction company in name only. His last address on 411.ca of 75 Bradford Street is ambiguous as it gets.
Streetview

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/75...10b190ca!8m2!3d44.383313!4d-79.693638!6m1!1e1

I think the police had good reason to look at this guy, if anything his background or credentials bear further scrutiny.

He owed Francesca money, she was leaving the country, and he was living in her house after she left the country?

 

[otto]

Did he have any reason to think that he owned part of the property? I've read that they were best friends. What is their money history? Men who are smitten with a woman who view their relationship as "friends" are sometimes willing to give sums of money to the woman with whom he is smitten? We all know that women are friends with men who were smitten with them at some time in their lives, but they continue to keep the man at arms length ... and some are willing to accept money gifts.

Did that happen here? ... crazy idea ... just asking

 

[fred&edna]

Did he have any reason to think that he owned part of the property? I've read that they were best friends. What is their money history? Men who are smitten with a woman who view their relationship as "friends" are sometimes willing to give sums of money to the woman with whom he is smitten? We all know that women are friends with men who were smitten with them at some time in their lives, but they continue to keep the man at arms length ... and some are willing to accept money gifts.

Did that happen here? ... crazy idea ... just asking

He could have been smitten with Matus but he "... says he has been living in Belize for the past two and a half years with his girlfriend and two kids."

Are we to assume that JD's girlfriend and two kids live in the Matus house, also??

http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/145815

 

[otto]

If a man in that situation perceives that the woman he's smitten with is running off with a 36 year old ex-marine, and he was out of pocket financially, and romantically, would he kill her and her 36 year old boyfriend?

How would he get that close to them? Was the lock on the back seat door always broken, or was it broken on the night they were abducted and murdered? Where did the duct tape come from?

Was the duct tape in the car already, was the lock already broken, and was he able to get that close to them because they knew him? I really want to know if he has any taser marks on his neck ... I can't think of any other way to disable him once he's seated in the passenger seat of the car ... but he was disabled while Francesca was murdered. He was then strangled as well, and his body was dumped n top of hers. Perhaps this was an attempt to interfere with infrared aerial surveillance, as his body on top of hers would give the impression of a single heat anomaly while searchers were looking for two anomalies.

 

[Ambergold2003]

Hey Phil! Nice to see you here. Jill

 

[Satchie]

Yes, it's possible that the abduction and murders, disposal of bodies, removal of car battery, and suspect's return to personal transportation took longer than expected so it's possible that it was daylight when the suspect wanted to remove evidence from Francesca's home. At 8:30AM, someone knew that something was wrong, and it is possible that this completely messed up the suspect's big picture perfect murder plan ... but Drew wasn't supposed to leave until May 4 ... was the idea that she and her luggage/passport would disappear, and so would Drew ... so he was the suspect? We know that Belize police would fall for that (easy ex-pat blaming, et al) ... perhaps the perfect murder/suspect theory that is easy enough for Belize police to follow while stamping "case closed" on the folder.

Yes, perhaps wanting it to look like they had left for the airport and something had happened after that, to remain forever a mystery. It would help explain the careful concealment, at any rate.

 

[zencompass]

If a man in that situation perceives that the woman he's smitten with is running off with a 36 year old ex-marine, and he was out of pocket financially, and romantically, would he kill her and her 36 year old boyfriend?

How would he get that close to them? Was the lock on the back seat door always broken, or was it broken on the night they were abducted and murdered? Where did the duct tape come from?

Was the duct tape in the car already, was the lock already broken, and was he able to get that close to them because they knew him? I really want to know if he has any taser marks on his neck ... I can't think of any other way to disable him once he's seated in the passenger seat of the car ... but he was disabled while Francesca was murdered. He was then strangled as well, and his body was dumped n top of hers. Perhaps this was an attempt to interfere with infrared aerial surveillance, as his body on top of hers would give the impression of a single heat anomaly while searchers were looking for two anomalies.

Dear Otto,

In your opinion, could one person have physically done all of this? I suppose it is possible but how does one move a 200 lb. muscular 6 foot 6 inches man?

Thank you in advance,

 

[Satchie]

I was thinking about DeShaies being hired to remove the electronics from the casino. According to the Belize press, this happened back in March. And since then he's been keeping at least some of these high end electronics in his rented house by the ocean. I can see he may have been hired to do it, but it seems to me to have been a very shady deal where he was also paid to conceal the stuff in his home. How would his landlady have reacted if she knew he had such 'disputed' goods in her house?

Just speculating.

 

[Kophy]

I was planning on just lurking forever but I'm not good at staying out of conversations. Arghh this post is long - sorry. I don't know how to quote yet.

First - this comment on Breaking Belize News. It shocked me at first, but then nobody picked up on it, nobody responded to it and I can't identify the original poster, or find any evidence that the people having the conversation could be privy to this kind of information. But I'll share it anyway, because this is where I first read that Francesca may have sold her house. I don't have a link, I have it up on a different device, but it's in response to the article posted at 1:05 pm. (May 2) I'll type it here so you don't have to search if you don't want to.

"The killers (two) are now in police custody. Both were released from Belize Prison. They heard that Francesca sold her home and they followed her and the boyfriend out of the bar. They knew she was leaving the next day and figured she had lots of personal belongings in her vehicle."

"One of the cops took one of the perps out back of the jail and beat the hell out of him".

So, could be a load of BS as this was 4 days ago and we've heard nothing from the police about these mystery perps. I'm in agreement that the robbery motive makes no sense. Especially if Drew's wallet had money in it. The police said they had money on them, but then why did they initially assume robbery? Unless the killers took Francesca's keys and were planning on going to her home but didn't for some reason. In my mind, the only reasons for taking the registration would be to either delay identifying the owner, or they first had a plan to steal the car and sell it, or because it had her address on it. But if they wanted to delay identification, they would have taken the wallet no? Unless they knew that field was being burned.

They left the license plate on the car.

Question: Was the field the car was found in also scheduled to be burned?

Next, I personally believe that people are assuming a lot about the relationship between Francesca and Drew. He had just arrived in Belize in December and nobody can really confirm how long they've been dating. I've read from 2 to several months. From what I can see, Francesca was an extremely independent woman so I doubt very much that Drew was living with her. From what I understand, he was living with a friend. That could be the friend who just flew down with the brother - they had purchased the property together and were planning to develop it, although it doesn't appear they had made much headway yet. The friend and brother also mentioned that they were at Ranchito Village (Drew's) and were going with the police to pick up some of his belongings from Francesca's. In addition, the initial searchers focused on the area near Francesca's home and were planning on searching near Drew's when that was completed.

She was returning to life in Canada and he was returning to school in the US. They weren't sharing about each other publicly and although that might not mean anything at all, my gut tells me they were just enjoying each other's company while they had it. So, I don't think it's that weird that he wasn't driving her to the airport. My boyfriend of 15 years adores me but he never drives me to the airport either. The guy claiming that JD owed "them" money and hadn't paid "them" rent does not appear to have any connection to Belize. I doubt Francesca would involve her new boyfriend in her financial affairs.

JD does not seem like a good suspect to me at all. People are making a lot of his "disappearance". I think that was just unfortunate wording of the news reporters - there's been a lot of that. My understanding is that people started speculating that JD might be the one in custody because the handyman hadn't seen him since Saturday. The police stated that they had initially brought him in for questioning about the casino incident and then they were questioning him about the murders. I wonder If they kept him for 48 hours, then took him to his house and to Placencia to deal with the casino stuff, then took him back to Corozal and held him for another 48 hours to question him about the murders. I think he wasn't really missing - I think the police probably had him the whole time. IMO of course.

People keep asking about the 2nd Canadian. I don't know where that comes from. Perhaps a statement to the tune of "at least one person in custody is Canadian". That doesn't mean 2.

There's some interesting theories here and maybe there is much more to this. But I'm not convinced that this wasn't just a crime of opportunity. If the killers had a plan, why were these people taped and strangled? If you want somebody dead, wouldn't you take a weapon? Why were the bodies and car just dumped? I think they just used the tools at hand. Ie: duct tape in the car. The police said "manual" strangulation so people think "with hands". That would be difficult and exhausting right? Earlier they had said "massive" strangulation. I'm more inclined to believe they were garrotted with something that the killers then took with them, the car and bodies left in places where the killers knew they would be destroyed by fire. Maybe migrant workers due to work the harvest? I know that Drew was a large man and people are questioning how someone could take him down. He was also a marine - a protector - he may have surrendered if he was outnumbered and they were threatening Francesca. Maybe he thought they would let her/them go.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but it might be my only one and I wanted to share my thoughts. I really hope this doesn't go unsolved.

 

[PaxBelize]

I'm not ready to accept that Belize is a nice place with great people. Stories like this are common.

I could easily list the daily mass shootings in the USA and use it as a means to suggest that people in the USA are not good people. Unfortunately, unless you understand Belize, it's incredible range of cultures ranging from the Garinagu and Maya to the Mennonites and Lebanese, you might feel comfortable judging a place that is young, poor and trying to find its place with limited resources. Fortunately, well traveled people are not and that most people in the world are very much the same.

 

[PaxBelize]

Duct tape is relatively common and can be purchased easily in Belize.

 

[PaxBelize]

Lots of dead Belizeans in Belize with the same outcome. Please note that Canadians have also been implicated in a number of serious crimes in Belize as well.

 

[PaxBelize]

I don't understand people from Belize defending the horrible crime rate in their country.

I'm not sure where you saw people from Belize defending the horrible crime rate in Belize. Please do point them out to me. I would think that no one would defend the crime rate in their country, wherever that might be.

 

[PaxBelize]

Welcome PaxBelize :welcome:

I understand what you're saying about the country being relatively "new" independence wise, but I highly doubt they get the majority of their funding from employment taxes. There is a lot of foreign investment in the country and I'm sure they are collecting a lot of tax and other revenue from it. If they are not, they should be. But you are right, it's going to take many more years of investing to even come close to the abilities that even another third world country like Mexico have. Which means that the country of Belize will continue to be, as one of the murder victims ironically put it, lawless, until such a time as the funding is available to massively increase police resources and the police force is able to function without corruption within it's ranks. So tourists or expats retiring there have to be on their guard with regards to the high crime rates (and the reasons why they exist) and the lack of resources to deter and or solve them.

As the beachfront areas along the coast continue to be developed and purchased by foreign investors and expats, I think you are going to see more violent crimes in these areas before things get better.

I know of the one case of the pastor that was beheaded but the person charged with that is a con man with multiple identities and it's questionable whether he is actually a Canadian citizen or whether that is a con as well. He is originally a Guyanese national from what I've read.

Who was the other Canadian who got away? Did he return to Canada? Are the RCMP actively searching for this man? That is a little unnerving that someone from Canada can be wanted in Belize for murder and nothing is being done about it.

I do have a question for you with regards to the border between Mexico and Belize. When looking at the map, it appears that one only has to drive over the bridge on the Hondo River between the two countries. Is there any border patrol there? I ask because the victim's vehicle was abandoned very close to this bridge. And as you've said, most Belizeans are kind hard working people, as are most Mexicans. But would it be possible for those who are not and are involved in the criminal element to commit crimes in each other's countries without having to adhere to strict border patrol?

TIA

Here's some info about the Canadian wanted for murder. https://www.sanpedrosun.com/police-...ve-jordan-bacchus-also-wanted-toronto-canada/

There is border control between the two countries as best as there can be, but it is porous in many areas. It is possible and common for people to cross the borders illegally to commit crimes.

 

[dotr]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...toronto-woman-and-her-american-boyfriend.html

Martinez said local police would be more than willing to liaise with Canadian police, in addition to the FBI agents already on the ground.

“We appreciate any assistance that we can get, to get to the bottom of this,” he said. “And if we have some Canadian officials who want to be part of this (investigation), we have absolutely no problem with that.”

Martinez said he had no knowledge of the American investigation.
“They haven’t shared anything so far, but it’s still pretty early,” said Martinez.

Spokespersons for the FBI and RCMP could not be reached on Saturday.

DeVoursney said a member of the FBI contacted her on Friday to offer assistance and let her know that American agents were in Belize.

The FBI contact “said sometimes these things drag on for a long time,” recalled DeVoursney. “She confirmed what I was feeling: this (investigation) could take a while.”

 

[otto]

He could have been smitten with Matus but he "... says he has been living in Belize for the past two and a half years with his girlfriend and two kids."

Are we to assume that JD's girlfriend and two kids live in the Matus house, also??

http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/145815

Sure, his girlfriend and her two children are in Belize, but hasn't he been there for 6 years?

What we have heard is that the main floor tenant left early in the morning and returned late in the day every day and no one knew where he was going. We have also heard that he may have been behind in his rent (owing Francesca money, although she was leaving the country as he lived in her house) ... but if he has another family, I suppose he was paying rent on two homes.

Have we just learned that this same best friend of Francesca's who was coming to her house at night and leaving early in the morning has another family, and at the same time he was sleeping at her house ... somewhere on the main floor, not paying rent, and watching her prepare to leave the country on the night that she was murdered?

 

[otto]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...toronto-woman-and-her-american-boyfriend.html

I don't think so. The USA FBI has a long history of parachuting into other countries and attempting a legal system take over (e.g. Natalie Holiday).

That's not Canada's style. Canada respects that other nationalities have figured out their legal systems, but will step in for human rights issues.

 

[margarita25]

I was planning on just lurking forever but I'm not good at staying out of conversations. Arghh this post is long - sorry. I don't know how to quote yet.

First - this comment on Breaking Belize News. It shocked me at first, but then nobody picked up on it, nobody responded to it and I can't identify the original poster, or find any evidence that the people having the conversation could be privy to this kind of information. But I'll share it anyway, because this is where I first read that Francesca may have sold her house. I don't have a link, I have it up on a different device, but it's in response to the article posted at 1:05 pm. (May 2) I'll type it here so you don't have to search if you don't want to.

"The killers (two) are now in police custody. Both were released from Belize Prison. They heard that Francesca sold her home and they followed her and the boyfriend out of the bar. They knew she was leaving the next day and figured she had lots of personal belongings in her vehicle."

"One of the cops took one of the perps out back of the jail and beat the hell out of him".

So, could be a load of BS as this was 4 days ago and we've heard nothing from the police about these mystery perps. I'm in agreement that the robbery motive makes no sense. Especially if Drew's wallet had money in it. The police said they had money on them, but then why did they initially assume robbery? Unless the killers took Francesca's keys and were planning on going to her home but didn't for some reason. In my mind, the only reasons for taking the registration would be to either delay identifying the owner, or they first had a plan to steal the car and sell it, or because it had her address on it. But if they wanted to delay identification, they would have taken the wallet no? Unless they knew that field was being burned.

They left the license plate on the car.

Question: Was the field the car was found in also scheduled to be burned?

Next, I personally believe that people are assuming a lot about the relationship between Francesca and Drew. He had just arrived in Belize in December and nobody can really confirm how long they've been dating. I've read from 2 to several months. From what I can see, Francesca was an extremely independent woman so I doubt very much that Drew was living with her. From what I understand, he was living with a friend. That could be the friend who just flew down with the brother - they had purchased the property together and were planning to develop it, although it doesn't appear they had made much headway yet. The friend and brother also mentioned that they were at Ranchito Village (Drew's) and were going with the police to pick up some of his belongings from Francesca's. In addition, the initial searchers focused on the area near Francesca's home and were planning on searching near Drew's when that was completed.

She was returning to life in Canada and he was returning to school in the US. They weren't sharing about each other publicly and although that might not mean anything at all, my gut tells me they were just enjoying each other's company while they had it. So, I don't think it's that weird that he wasn't driving her to the airport. My boyfriend of 15 years adores me but he never drives me to the airport either. The guy claiming that JD owed "them" money and hadn't paid "them" rent does not appear to have any connection to Belize. I doubt Francesca would involve her new boyfriend in her financial affairs.

JD does not seem like a good suspect to me at all. People are making a lot of his "disappearance". I think that was just unfortunate wording of the news reporters - there's been a lot of that. My understanding is that people started speculating that JD might be the one in custody because the handyman hadn't seen him since Saturday. The police stated that they had initially brought him in for questioning about the casino incident and then they were questioning him about the murders. I wonder If they kept him for 48 hours, then took him to his house and to Placencia to deal with the casino stuff, then took him back to Corozal and held him for another 48 hours to question him about the murders. I think he wasn't really missing - I think the police probably had him the whole time. IMO of course.

People keep asking about the 2nd Canadian. I don't know where that comes from. Perhaps a statement to the tune of "at least one person in custody is Canadian". That doesn't mean 2.

There's some interesting theories here and maybe there is much more to this. But I'm not convinced that this wasn't just a crime of opportunity. If the killers had a plan, why were these people taped and strangled? If you want somebody dead, wouldn't you take a weapon? Why were the bodies and car just dumped? I think they just used the tools at hand. Ie: duct tape in the car. The police said "manual" strangulation so people think "with hands". That would be difficult and exhausting right? Earlier they had said "massive" strangulation. I'm more inclined to believe they were garrotted with something that the killers then took with them, the car and bodies left in places where the killers knew they would be destroyed by fire. Maybe migrant workers due to work the harvest? I know that Drew was a large man and people are questioning how someone could take him down. He was also a marine - a protector - he may have surrendered if he was outnumbered and they were threatening Francesca. Maybe he thought they would let her/them go.

Anyway, sorry for the long post but it might be my only one and I wanted to share my thoughts. I really hope this doesn't go unsolved.

Welcome kophy

:welcome: