First murder in Belize for 2025

_{Photo: Godfrey Windfield Hyde, deceased}

Caretaker killed on Turneffe Island

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 6, 2025

The body of 59-year-old caretaker, Godfrey Windfield Hyde, who is believed to have been murdered, was found on Turneffe Island on Saturday, January 4.

The body was discovered after 6:00 a.m. that Saturday by a fisherman, 52-year-old Frederick Dougal, who had arrived at the island to drop off supplies for Hyde, who had been staying at the island for several days. It was when Dougal entered a wooden bungalow home approximately 300 yards inland, where Hyde had been staying, that he saw Hyde lying face down on the veranda.

Suspected gunshot wounds were seen on the body, and it is believed that Hyde, who is a resident of Fabers Road in Belize City, was shot twice. Officers of the Belize Police Department and Coast Guard subsequently arrived on the island after 1:30 p.m. to process the scene.

During Monday’s press briefing, ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division told reporters that while officers were examining the scene, nothing appeared to be stolen at the wooden fishing base.

ACP Romero added that Hyde wasn’t involved with any criminal activity. Nonetheless, reports indicate that Hyde is a socially well-known fisherman and may have been caught up in a squabble for fishing turf, as Turneffe Island is known as a popular fishing spot.

The body was transported to Belize City via boat, and then to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where Hyde was pronounced dead. His body was taken to the National Forensic Science Service for a post-mortem examination.

Hyde’s death is currently considered the first murder of 2025.