Three and a half years after a senseless act of violence tore apart a family’s New Year’s Eve gathering in Belmopan, Belize, a long-awaited guilty verdict has closed one chapter of a high-profile criminal case that shook the small Central American community. On May 29, 2026, High Court Justice Nigel Pilgrim handed down a ruling finding former Police Corporal Elmer Nah guilty on three counts of murder and one additional count of attempted murder, connected to the deadly December 31, 2022 shooting at the Ramnarace family residence.
The attack left two members of the Ramnarace brothers, David and Jon Ramnarace, dead at the scene. Jon’s wife, Vivian Belisle Ramnarace, initially clung to life after being shot, but succumbed to her injuries just 15 days later. The only surviving victim of the attack, Yemi Alberto, escaped with his life after the shooting.
Throughout the high-profile trial, key witness testimony and physical evidence converged to build the case for a guilty conviction. The most critical piece of the prosecution’s argument rested on the pre-death statement provided by Vivian Belisle Ramnarace, who gave her account of the shooting despite suffering fatal wounds. Justice Pilgrim confirmed in his ruling that the court found Vivian to be a truthful and credible witness, noting that her detailed description of the attack was fully corroborated by available video evidence — a alignment he called “remarkable”.
The court also rejected the alibi Nah had presented to account for his whereabouts during the time of the shooting. Justice Pilgrim ruled that the defendant had intentionally fabricated a false account of where he was when the murders occurred, and this finding was a decisive factor that led the court to reach the guilty verdicts.
A sentencing hearing, where Nah will learn his punishment for the convictions, has been scheduled for the afternoon of June 18, 2026. The verdict brings a measure of closure to the community and the Ramnarace family after years of waiting for justice following the devastating 2022 attack.