John Deshaies, he's the Canadian man in police custody who we've been telling you about since Wednesday. We can report his name now, because he's been remanded to prison on a theft charge. He also remains a murder suspect in the investigation into the double murder of Francesca Matus and Drew Devoursey. Matus was his landlord - and today we asked him what he knows about the murder. Here's Courtney Weatherburne's report on that and his arraignment for theft in Independence Village:...
Courtney Weatherburne reporting
The piercing grief following the chilling murders of Francesca Matus and her boyfriend Drew Thomas De Voursey is reflected in these Facebook posts. Matus' family and friends in Canada have been posting their favorite memories of her and sharing warm messages on her page.
Trying to block out the reality of their killing: Matus and De Voursey were strangled to death. Their bodies were found on the Chan Chen Road in Corozal on Monday. Their vehicle was found a day earlier on a sugar road 6 miles away from their bodies. It came as a shock to their friends in the Corozal Expat Community because they couldn't think of anyone in their circle who would want Matus and De Voursey dead. Here is what Colin Mcgowen had to say when we asked if this was an attack from within their own community.
Colin McGowen, Owner Scotty's Bar
"I wouldn't speculate on anything. If it was I would be very surprised. They were both very well liked throughout the whole community. So it hit people hard."
It hit people even harder when Police named Canadian John Deshaies as a prime suspect in the double murder.
What is even more troubling is that Deshaies rented the downstairs of Matus' Consejo Shores home in Corozal.
But Deshaies remains as just a suspect in that case at this point. Today in Independence he was charged for theft and handling stolen goods in an unrelated case. He allegedly took over $57,000 worth of items from the Placencia casino: hard drives, laptops, machine gaming systems among many other pieces of equipment. The information is that police took him to Corozal yesterday to retrieve some of the items. Now police have been following this theft case since March and the report is that Deshaies was hired by one of the shareholders of the Casino to remove all these devices and gaming machines. But after his arraignment, he told the media that he doesn't agree with the charges and he was just doing his job
Courtney Weatherburne, 7News
"How about the theft, the charges, what you have to say in response to that?"
John Deshais, Charged for Theft and Handling Stolen Goods
"It don't matter. This was me doing my job."
Reporter
"So you believe you were wrongly accused?"
John Deshais, Charged for Theft and Handling Stolen Goods
"Absolutely."
But the theft and handling stolen goods charges are just one part of today's court session. As was said, Deshaies is a prime suspect in Matus' and De Voursey's murder. But he told us he had nothing to do with it:
Courtney Weatherburne, 7News
"Were you involved in the murder of your landlord Francesca Matus?"
John Deshais, Charged for Theft and Handling Stolen Goods
"Not at all. She is very good friend of mine. Absolutely not."
While he maintains his innocence, it still doesn't bring the families of Matus and De Voursey any closure and the police still have to develop a case and gather evidence to move on with the double murder investigation.
Now, Belize police will have help from a team of North American forensic investigators. They arrived at the Corozal police station today and in this footage you can see them collecting evidence from various vehicles that have been brought into the police compound.
Police have told us they hope to continue questioning Deshaies about the murder. He was remanded until November and intends to apply for bail at the first opportunity. Deshaies is a contractor who has been living in Corozal for about three years.
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