Nearly five years after a brutal late-night home attack left a Belizean man permanently disabled, a Supreme Court justice has delivered a guilty verdict in one of the country’s high-profile violent crime cases. On Monday, Justice Natalie Creary-Dixon found Toledo District residents Orville Che and Fredrick Che guilty of attempted murder for the early morning assault on Alanberto Teul in Silver Creek Village on May 9, 2021.
Court documents outline a premeditated attack rooted in longstanding local tension. The violence began just before 11:30 p.m. on May 8, when an unidentified person knocked loudly on Teul’s front door calling his name. Teul, assuming the visitor was his own brother, opened the door and was immediately rushed by two armed assailants who used a machete, a wooden stick, and a claw hammer to inflict life-threatening damage. The victim’s then-14-year-old son, Edvin Teul, who was in the home at the time, intervened to stop the attack and suffered a hand wound and blunt force trauma from the hammer when he was struck by one of the brothers.
In a testimony that would become the backbone of the prosecution’s case, Edvin confirmed he had no trouble identifying both attackers, as he had grown up in the same small community and was familiar with both men. Even though one of the brothers briefly wore a face covering during the attack, Edvin told the court the home’s interior lighting was bright enough for him to clearly see both men’s faces, confirming Fredrick Che carried the machete that inflicted the worst injuries, while Orville Che wielded the wooden stick.
Law enforcement moved quickly to apprehend the suspects, arresting both brothers less than 24 hours after the attack at a residence in nearby Big Falls Village. Officers recovered key physical evidence from the arrest site, including a damp camouflage outfit, rubber work boots matching descriptions from the scene, and the yellow-and-black hammer used to strike the victim and his son.
Medical testimony during the trial painted a grim picture of the long-term harm caused by the attack. Treating physicians confirmed Teul suffered a catastrophic skull fracture that exposed brain tissue, requiring emergency surgery and an urgent blood transfusion to save his life. Subsequent medical evaluations confirmed Teul has been left with permanent brain damage, partial paralysis, and chronic seizure disorder; he now relies on a wheelchair for most mobility and is unable to work or live independently.
Due to Teul’s severe cognitive impairments from the attack, the court allowed a statement he gave to investigators three months after the incident to be entered into evidence, though Justice Creary-Dixon ultimately assigned little weight to the document, noting Teul may not have been coherent enough to provide a full, accurate account of the attack so soon after his injury. Instead, the guilty verdict rested almost entirely on Edvin’s eyewitness account, which the judge praised as consistently credible and unwavering even through intense cross-examination by the defense.
The legal team for the Che brothers attempted to argue the pair were asleep at their home during the timeframe of the attack, presenting an alibi witness to support their claim. However, the witness was unable to definitively confirm the brothers’ whereabouts during the specific hours of the assault, leading the judge to reject the entire defense narrative.
During the trial, prosecutors and legal observers pointed to a potential motive tied to local folklore: the attack took place on Mother’s Day 2021, and witnesses raised unconfirmed claims that Teul had been accused of practicing obeah, a Caribbean traditional spiritual practice, against the brothers’ recently deceased mother. The judge referenced this context in her verdict notes.
Sentencing for Orville and Fredrick Che has been scheduled for a separate upcoming hearing, and no further details on the hearing date have been released to the public as of press time.