A grisly homicide discovery has shaken the quiet community of Carmelita Village in northern Belize’s Orange Walk District, where local resident Wilson Perez was found dead with severe chop wounds early Tuesday morning, according to senior law enforcement officials. The 41-year-old’s body was uncovered by concerned family members who launched a search after he failed to return home from a nighttime outing on Monday.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero confirmed details of the incident to local reporters, noting that Perez left his residence around 10:30 p.m. Monday, telling family he planned to walk to the village’s public football field. When he did not come back by the early hours of Tuesday, his relatives grew increasingly anxious and organized a search of the surrounding area. That search ended in tragedy when the group located Perez’s body in an undeveloped patch of land near the village.
Unconfirmed police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to local outlet News 5, revealed the particularly brutal nature of the killing: Perez was found with his head severed from his body, and there is evidence that an unknown attacker attempted to set the corpse on fire to destroy evidence. Authorities were alerted to the scene at approximately 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, and immediately dispatched forensic investigators and homicide detectives to process the area.
In a press statement Tuesday, Romero said that forensics teams have completed their initial processing of the crime scene, and that detectives are now working through a full list of potential leads and persons of interest. Police have not yet released information about a possible motive for the killing, nor have any arrests been announced. The entire Carmelita Village community has been left reeling from the violent attack, with local leaders urging anyone with information about Perez’s movements or possible suspects to contact police to assist with the investigation.