On Saturday, November 4th, there was news from La Isla Cariñosa of Caye Caulker about the discovery of a woman found dead in her home. The deceased was identified as 32-year-old Leslie Verde. The body was bruised, and police launched an investigation into the cause of Verde’s death. On Monday, November 6th, police formally arrested and charged 44-year-old Juan Carlos Novelo for the crime “Murder” in relation to Verde’s death.
The official report from the police said the Caye Caulker Police Formation responded to Verde’s house around 12:35 PM on Saturday. The officers were told that Verde’s daughter found her mother unresponsive between 10:30 and 11AM. Police observed her motionless body in the house and proceeded to process the scene. There was no sign of forced entry at Verde’s home.
The initial reports indicate that Verde had been out the previous night and went home around 5AM on Saturday. Hours later, she was found dead in her house. Her body was transported to the Caye Caulker Health Center, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Police said the body showed bruises on the neck area. As such, the body was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City for a post-mortem examination.
The Caye Caulker Chairlady Seleny Villanueva-Pott and her team at the village council extended their heartfelt condolences to the Verdes family and her friends. “We are extremely saddened by this news,” they noted. Verdes leaves behind three young children.
Caye Caulker is not known for such major crime incidents; however, this is the second time the growing island community has experienced this type of incident this year. The first one took place on June 3rd, when Floyd Samuels, 45, was gunned down at his residence. Police closed this case after arresting and charging 26-year-old John Elwin Hyde Jr. with Murder. The last reported violent incident in Caye Caulker was in June 2019, when boat captain Norman Gill was involved in a stabbing incident. Gill remained at large for months before being detained on the mainland. He was then arrested and charged with Dangerous Harm and the Use of Deadly means of Harm.
