New Year’s Eve Double Murder in Belmopan Leaves Community in Shock
It was a violent New Year weekend filled with bloodshed, with five murders reported across the country. Tonight, we will bring you coverage of these tragic incidents, starting in Belmopan where two brothers are dead and one woman remains hospitalized fighting for her life. On Saturday night, just before eight a.m., thirty-eight-year-old Jon Ramnarace and his wife, Vivian Ramnarace, were at their home, along with Jon’s brother, twenty-nine-year-old David Ramnarace and his common-law wife, twenty-eight-year-old Yemi Alberto, when the unthinkable occurred. A gunman entered the property and murdered both brothers, leaving behind Yemi Alberto and Vivian Ramnarace with multiple gunshot injuries. It is a crime that has shocked the entire country and today News Five’s Paul Lopez travelled to Belmopan to learn more. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
It was to be a night of celebration for the Ramnarace family to bring in 2023. But, Saturday night ended in bloodshed with the callous and calculated execution of brothers Jon and David Ramnarace in Belmopan. The siblings were socializing at Jon’s residence, awaiting the arrival of several other family members and friends, when a lone gunman entered the yard. The carnage began on the front lawn, where the gunman opened fire on Jon and David. The suspect then entered Jon’s home where his wife, Vivian Ramnarace, and David’s common-law wife, Yemi Alberto, were seeking cover. They, too, were targeted. Information to News Five is that Vivian Ramnarace was shot as many as six times. Her mother spoke with us off camera.
Voice of: Mother of Shooting Victim
“The family is in shock, because we never expected anything like this to ever happen to the family you know. These guys are good guys, Jon and Mikey and my daughter. Thank God she is alive and it is just something we cannot comprehend. We don’t understand why, why somebody would want to do this to them.”
What is even more shocking about the incident is the fact that Jon’s five-year-old daughter was inside the house at the time of the shooting. She witnessed the entire ordeal. The child, however, fled through the back door, into the bushes, in the darkness, to a neighboring home.
Voice of: Mother of Shooting Victim
“When I went to house, the police were there. I told them my daughter lived here so I want to go inside. They told me no you cannot go to contaminate any crime scene. So, I said, we want to know, because they told me a body was there, somebody was lying dead, can we see who it is, and no you cannot. But, they told me go to the hospital because your daughter and her husband have been taken to the hospital. So, I asked where is my granddaughter and they said a neighbor has her. So, I picked her up from the neighbor and we went to the hospital and it was just so unbelievable you know.”
Tonight, the family remains in shock as they seek answers for this heinous crime. Brothers David and Jon, by all accounts, were hard working men with a strong religious background. Jon, in particular, was known for his conservation work with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He was the developer behind the Fish Right Eat Right application. We spoke with Nicole Auil Gomez, the Country Representative at WCS.
Nicole Auil Gomez
Nicole Auil Gomez, Country Representative, W.C.S.
“At first disbelief and I think as our team learnt the news, it has just been a very shocking news and it shook the team. We at WCS are a family of people that work together. We spend most of our time working together and various initiatives and Jon was very friendly and was involved in so many awesome things. He loved cooking and he loved to do all sorts of things for his home and his family. Of course, this is very sad news for us but also for the very entire conservation community. His experience was fairly new for himself in conservation but he would have been around practitioners because his wife is a career conservationist in the fisheries sector with the department.”
Police investigation into Saturday night’s double murder continues and so far an arrest has been made. Thirty-six-year-old Elmer Nah has been slapped with a slew of charges, including two counts of Murder, Attempted Murder, Use of Deadly Means of Harm, and Dangerous Harm. Nah is a police officer on interdiction, following charges related to a drug plane landing in southern Belize back in 2021.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“A team of investigators headed by myself, Mr. Grinage, and Mr. Carcamo, we canvassed the area, we talked with people, we viewed video footages and we were able to gather statements from witnesses who saw what took place. And, based on that we were able to arrest and charge Elmer Nah with the crime of Murder.”
As for a motive, police are still seeking to ascertain a reason for the shooting. ComPol Williams dispelled reports that the family was targeted because the brothers were witnesses in the murder of Michael Williams and the attempt on the lives of two other men, just two days earlier.
Chester Williams
“Unfortunately that is not the case, the police did not even approach the Ramnarace in respect to that matter and they live quite a distance away. It was about two streets away. And, I have heard the rumors in the public domain that they were witnesses and that is not so.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez
