The Cante/Raymundo family's worst fears were confirmed this morning when two dismembered bodies were found in a shallow grave outside Hattieville. Though it had been two weeks since Marvin Cante and John Raymundo went missing, the bodies were not in a state of advanced decomposition, possibly preserved by the consecutive cold fronts. Because of this, their family was able to officially identify them.
But how close are police to catching their killer or killers? And what was the motive? Courtney Menzies was on the scene this morning and has this story.
This is the muddy trail leading to the shallow grave where the bodies of Marvin Cantes and John Raymundo were found. And likely, this is the last thing they saw before they were murdered.
The cousins were seen for the last time on November 26th. They were heading from Belmopan to the Belize District but something went wrong along the way. The next day, their vehicle was found with the engine still idling and blood on the car seat.
Two weeks later, this grave was found among the trees, filled with water from the recent rains. At first, the police thought it was one body, until they found the other underneath.
ACP Hilberto Romero was on the scene and gave us preliminary information.
ACP Hilberto Romero, OCED
"Investigation was carrying out and this led police to an area 500 yards in the bushes where a shallow grave was discovered with the remains of two male persons with chop wounds. The bodies have been taken to the forensic laboratory where they await a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death so that the remains can be properly identified."
Courtney Menzies:
"Did somebody find the bodies or was it just police on a tip?"
ACP Hilberto Romero, OCED
"This is based on an investigation that was carried out, we have one suspect in custody at this time."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you know the motive?"
ACP Hilberto Romero, OCED
"We do not know the motive at this time."
Courtney Menzies:
"Has the family relayed that the men were in any type of illegal activities?"
ACP Hilberto Romero, OCED
"No, not from them, we did not get anything from them."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you know if they were killed here or somewhere else?"
ACP Hilberto Romero, OCED
"We do not know, no."
Notably, vehicles can't drive directly to the area where the grave was found, so there is speculation that the killers may have walked them there alive. Multiple police sources have told us investigators believe this double murder is drug related.
Police also believe that there may have been cartel involvement in the murder.
