A real estate magnate from Colorado was shot and killed in what authorities now believe was a targeted attack at a luxurious resort in Belize.
Boris Mannsfeld, the wealthy founder of Boris Mannsfeld and Associates, was fatally shot on Friday at the Villas of Cocoplum, a swanky residential community and resort in Maya Beach, situated on the nation’s southeastern coast, local outlet Breaking Belize reported.
He was found around 9 p.m. local time, lying facedown in a pool of his own blood and suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, next to his cash-filled wallet and ID, police said. A 9mm pistol registered to the victim and a bullet shell casing were also found nearby.
As of Wednesday, no arrests had been made.
During a news briefing, Belize Commissioner of Police Chester Williams provided an update in the case, telling reporters that investigators believe the shooting was a deliberate and planned act of violence.
“The shooting of Boris Mannsfeld has all indications of a hit,” Williams said, per the Denver Post. “He was in his yard when, seemingly, he was approached by whoever the gunman or gunmen are, and he was shot once in the head behind the neck.”
Mannsfeld moved from the United States to Belize in 2006, years after he “fell in love with Placencia on his first trip in 1992,” according to a bio published on his company’s site. According to Williams, Mannsfeld had just returned to Belize on the day he was killed, having been in and out of the country following the deaths of his so-called “associates” Ricardo Borja and Darren Taylor.
Borja was killed in 2023 and Taylor turned up dead the following year. Neither case has been solved, but another one of Mannsfeld’s associates, Frik De Meyere, was labeled a person of interest in Borja’s slaying. He’s also being questioned in connection with Mannsfeld’s murder, but has not been charged with crimes.
So far, there’s no indication the killings are linked, but Williams said investigators “aren’t ruling it out.” The police commissioner added that “it would not be wrong for one to assume that there may be some connection there” and authorities are “looking at that possibility.”
Mannsfeld spent more than 30 years investing in and developing Belize real estate. According to his company website, the Villas of Cocoplum was one of his development projects.
