30 year old David Friessen, a 30-year-old Belizean national of the Mennonite community, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter by provocation, following a plea agreement accepted by the court. Friessen entered the guilty plea on November 17, 2025, admitting to the strangling death of his friend and drinking companion, 28-year-old Alexander Villamil. The sentencing hearing took place this morning before Justice Nigel Pilgrim, who noted that the plea agreement recommended a 13-year sentence, which he accepted.
According to the court, the incident occurred on February 17, 2024. After socializing at a Bar in Maskall Village, Friessen drove Villamil home. Both men were reportedly intoxicated when a verbal altercation escalated into a physical struggle. Friessen admitted to strangling Villamil to death before leaving him by the roadside and going home. The court applied mitigating factors for Friessen, including his lack of prior convictions, expressed remorse, cooperation with authorities, and good character as described by family and community members. While the maximum penalty for manslaughter by provocation is life imprisonment, the court set the sentence at 13 years and one month.
