Two Men Arrested For San Ignacio Easter Sunday Murder, Police Seek Several Others

Ernest Thompson & Isiah Azueta

Police have arrested and charged to men for the murder of seventy-two-year-old Belizean American retiree William Maxwell Smith which occurred on Easter Sunday in San Ignacio. The accused are fifty-nine-year-old Ernest Thompson of Santa Elena Town and twenty-nine-year-old Isiah Azueta of Kontiki Extension. The men were jointly charged with one count of murder, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of dangerous harm and two counts of robbery each. Ernest Thompson was additionally charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of kept firearm without a gun license, one count of kept ammunition without a gun license and one count of handling stolen goods. Isiah Azueta was additionally charged with one count of kept firearm without a gun license and one count of kept ammunition without a gun license. And, police are still looking for several other individuals who they believe conspired with the two men to carry out this horrendous crime. Chester Williams, the Commissioner of Police, gave reporters an update late this evening.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The investigation led to the arrest of Ernest Thompson and another fellow Azueta. As I said before, in respect to those two individuals, those were the ones that our investigation indicated had gone to the home of Mister Smith and perpetrated the aggravated burglary which eventually led to murder. Police good work again led to these persons being detained and arrested and charged. We are still trying as best as we can to gather more evidence as it relates to those persons who may be the conspirators. There are other persons who play very important roles leading up to that particular incident and we have identified who those persons are. But, right now we are working on the evidence and hopefully by the end of this week we should be able to lay charges against the other persons, jointly with the other two for conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.”