Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
It's the murder plot that has transfixed and rattled the nation: a 26-year-old laboratory scientist from Belmopan allegedly contracted a 37-year-old Roaring Creek resident to kill her colleague Dr Naun Bonilla - with whom she had an ongoing business dispute.
Today at the Belmopan Magistrate's Court, alleged mastermind Hannah Foreman and alleged hitman Edwin Bethran were arraigned for the murder of Dr Bonilla.
7News was there and Jaleeza Roberts reports:
This morning just after 8:30am courthouse observers and supporters of the Bonilla family started making their way out to the Belmopan's Magistrate's court for the arraignment of alleged conspirators Hannah Foreman and Edwin Bethran Jr. for the murder of Dr. Naun Bonilla.
They hoisted posters colorful and proud in a display of solidarity with the cause of justice.
At a little after 9:00 the duo arrived in a police pickup and they were whisked into the courtroom with silence from the crowd but grief in the air. Inside they were each read one count of murder and remanded.
After one hour, they exited the court room in cuffs and were pushed into the back of the police pickup for that long ride to Hattieville, while family members, friends, colleagues and patients of Dr.Bonilla shouted for justice.
Both alleged killers shocked the crowd with small gestures. They appeared to smirk, maybe even smile, and one nodded - it seemed almost in knowing approval.
We spoke outside the court with the attorney for Edwin Bethran Jr, Arthur Saldivar who stressed that it's early going yet:
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney for Edwin Bethran Jr "It's a very early stage no documentation has yet been presented but sufficed to say we know that this is a very highly scrutinized case, the fact that Dr. Bonilla was murdered has not lost on anyone, certainly on both sides of the bar we want justice to be done. Justice for Dr. Bonilla is important and justice for Dr. Bonilla means that the right persons are before the court, if they are the right persons and the evidence holds up then the outcome will be what it should be. If it means that they are not the right persons and all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty guilty then the outcome will be justice in that respect as well."
"At the onset, we would hope that the investigation is thorough and we would hope that the procedures were followed and if that is the case then there will be no issues going forward as to whether or not right has been done and a wrong has been corrected."
And while he is representing Bethran Jr., Dickie Bradley is representing Foreman - but was not at court this morning.
Outside the courtroom the family was heartbroken over the reactions of those accused of killing their beloved Naun:
Angel Bonilla, Brother "Do you see the smirk on Miss Hannah's face? I hope you got it. Miss Hannah thinks all of this is a joke. She's laughing not only at the grieving family but at our justice system because she just got arraigned for a murder charge and she's laughing. Why is she laughing? Does she think our system is a joke or she has something we don't know. Is there more to this? I hope all the people involved are seeing this, people of Belize we have been bleeding for way too long."
"They did not only take away a life but a lifesaver and that is crazy."
"The effort of so many years of hard work you know, Dr. Naun was 36 years old after high school he spent 14 years studying abroad to get qualified to come back and wok and he barely got to work 7 years not even 7 years."
And in those 7 years he was able to gain many colleagues who enjoyed working with him. He was labeled as hardworking and motivated to make a difference in the field but with him now gone, they feel the emptiness in the office:
Gianni Alamilla, Pharmacist "We lose a fellow servant of humanity, I mean we serve people. I mean the healthcare setting it's all you ever obsess about, how to better serve people. How to meet people at their worst, absorb their energy, he was a leader in that realm, he taught us how to deal with grief other peoples grief how to not bring in your own baggage to work. So it's something that we don't know how to process."
The co-accused next appear in Court on September first. Jaleeza Roberts, 7 News.
And while the arraignment has taken place, many questions remain about how investigators were able to home in on the two suspects.
At today's press briefing, police explained in detail the multi layered investigation to find Dr Naun's killers. Jaleeza Roberts takes a deeper look:
Police believe the murder of Dr. Naun Ulices Bonilla was not a random act of violence, but rather the result of a coordinated plan involving more than one individual, according to details emerging from the police investigation. One week after the respected physician was gunned down in broad daylight while driving through Belmopan, police put together an unusual murder investigation, utilizing digital forensics and money trail to link the two suspects - who come form different worlds:
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "What I will say is that this investigation was a very intense one as with all of our investigation."
"However, on this occasion we were able to leverage a lot of the tools that have been implemented with the transitioning of the department into a more technologically sound department. We relied heavily on the public safety monitoring unit and the camera system that they have there. We also relied heavily on the digital forensics unit of the Belize Police Department cyber crime unit. Similarly, great assistance came from the Financial Intelligence Unit and certainly the diligence of the police officers who spent extraordinary amount of time, the investigators, going through a number of footage which helped to paint a picture and take us to where we are now."
But a concern for many including his family is whether or not the charge of murder will stick on to Foreman being that she was not at at the scene. She allegedly hired hitman Bethran to do the deed but never pulled the trigger herself. Despite this, police were able to explain how for the first time in history a charge like this has been laid:
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "What I will say without getting into too much specifics, because as you are aware it's a matter that is before the court, is that the charge follows the principle of joint enterprise, which pretty much states that when two persons plan or commit an offense together, they can be liable for the independent conduct of each other. So even where a person may not have pulled the trigger that caused the demise of the other person, that person can still be liable for murder because there is some indication of their involvement in the planning of the act, and that is the extent to which I will discuss."
"I know I cannot recall any within my time frame whereby we have had persons who were not physically on the scene or playing an accessory role in an incident being arrested for murder. I can't recall in my time and when I spoke to ACP Romero he said he cannot recall any in his time as well so it is the first of its kind but and it is for that reason we are moving very intently and scrupulously because we do not want to prejudice this case. It's a very heart-wrenching and tragic loss. Every loss is significant and important however Dr. Bonilla by all indication was a person who devoted his very short life to saving lives of others and impacting the community with which he served."
So for now the families and friends are having some form of relief in what could have been one of the hardest weeks of their life. For now, this case goes to September 1. Jaleeza Roberts, 7 News.
At the top of the newscast you saw the arraignment of the two persons accused of Dr Naun Bonilla's murder.
But, why would anyone execute the doctor the way they did? Police say he was not linked to any criminal activity. However, he was in a business dispute with the accused Hannah Foreman. We took a deeper look at the legal exchanges between the two:
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "People and you know involved in the medical field."
A partnership formed with each of them investing $50,000 dollars - Foreman did this when she was 24 years old.
And then in January of 2026, the business secured a lucrative NHI services contract.
Foreman said in her deposition that's when Bonilla tried to push her out of the business.
But he told his family that's when he found out she was trying to steal the contract from their partnership:
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "The final straw that took my brother make the decision to take this to court was with the NHI contract that they had bid for. When the contract was, when they won the bid, they still hadn't signed the contract, she had corresponded back to NHI stating that the contract would be signed under a different business name, a business that had nothing to do with my brother. Now being my brother was part of the application, they called him to say, Bonilla, what is happening, because we just received this correspondence and he said categorically this business has nothing to do with me, this business is not my business, I have no interest in this business, and this contract cannot be signed because that business is not the one that we bid under. We found out that business belonged solely to Ms Hannah Foreman."
The revelation forced Bonilla to get an attorney and send her a lawyer letter with an offer to buy her out of the business. In the letter, he alleged financial misappropriation, clinical and administrative malpractice, and unauthorized ownership change and forging the doctor's signature on official documents submitted to the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry allegedly to execute an unauthorized ownership change.
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "My brother had been gathering evidence for over a year because he realized that on days that he wouldn't be here all day, business was bad or there would be only two or three transactions for the smallest amounts of monies possible."
"And then my brother started even going as far as coming back at the end of the day going through the days activities and collecting even trash and so he was able to put back together some of the receipts."
But, she rejected those conclusions and filed suit against the Doctor - also rejecting his $20,000 dollar buyout offer. She said that since February he had illegally locked her out of the business and taken steps to oust her completely. That was an illegal breach of the terms of the partnership and she asked the court to dissolve the partnership.
Her suit was processed on April 20th - and Bonilla was executed 6 weeks later on May 29th. Police believe the business dispute was the motive:
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "That is certainly the aspect that this investigation is disclosing, namely a dispute over a business situation gone awry."
Reporter "Did he ever feel like his life was threatened?"
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "Never. That I know if. But, again, maybe he was trying to shield us or just to keep it to himself but I never perceived that from him nor form her. Because we used to come in here and she would smile with us. And she would talk to us because we know where she is from, we know her background."
But, if police are correct, they did not know how far she might go:
Jules Vasquez "Is there an indication why, you know, if you're many people involved in civil suits involving large sums of money, is there any indication why she allegedly would have escalated it to take out a hit on the doctor?"
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "I don't think there is any situation that can justify any allegation of anybody or any propensity of anybody to decide to step aside from the lawfully organized court system when it comes to the ventilating grievances to escalating it elsewhere."
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "And it did not even come to my mind, it slipped my mind completely that she would ever ever consider anything other than settling you know, legally, you know like a normal person would do."
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "Persons who have gone on and acquired education and acquired a level of comfort and professional thrive, thriving professionally, resorting to those in the vulnerable communities to be tools for them is very disheartening and for me it is an indication of the moral degradation and the fact that education alone does not secure morality."
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased "I think he was fooled by her. She was able to….to, to, just….she was a snake man, that is it."
Jules Vasquez "I have to ask, was there any personal aspect to their relationship."
Angel Bonilla, Brother of Deceased"No."
We stress that no criminal complaint for theft had been made against Hannah Foreman.
As for the litigation, it was in its early stages, and the court found that the matter had to go to full trial.
Justice was served late this afternoon in the Belize High Court as a dual guilty verdict was handed down against 31-year-old Shaquille Perrera for a brazen Christmas Eve shooting that left one man dead and another fighting for his life.
Justice Nigel Pilgrim, found Perrera guilty of the murder of Darnelle Puerto and guilty of the attempted murder of Jehvon Ramclam.
The convictions stem from a deadly ambush on December 24, 2023, on Maskall Street. While Puerto died on the spot, Ramclam survived the gunfire, ultimately taking the witness stand to deliver the crucial testimony that secured justice for his deceased friend.
In delivering his judgment, Justice Pilgrim stated he found Ramclam, to be "credible, honest, and reliable."
Ramclam also told the court he could never forget the shooter's face because Perrera was also responsible for a previous shooting involving his brother.
In his dock statement, Perrera maintained his innocence, claiming he did not know the victims and provided an alibi, stating he was elsewhere at the time of the shooting.
Shaquille Perrera has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison awaiting sentencing in July.
Yesterday, a home invasion was reported in Cristo Rey village, but quick police work resulted in the apprehension of one man and the seizure of a firearm. In this case, the neighborhood watch had a big part to play in the arrests:
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "Police have detained one male person and recovered a firearm and a piece of jewelry as a consequence of a response and subsequent investigation into an aggravated burglary, which occurred on 4th June, 2026 in Cristo Rey Village, Cayo District. The investigation commenced at around 9.30 a.m. when San Ignacio police were advised that an aggravated burglary was in process at a residence on the outskirts of Cristo Rey Village. The officers responded immediately and upon their arrival, they observed two male persons fleeing from the residence and a pursuit ensued, which resulted in the apprehension of one of the male persons and the recovery of a .22 pistol along with live rounds of ammunition, as well as an item of jewelry belonging to the homeowner. What we have learned so far in the course of this investigation is that the homeowner, being a 66-year-old female, stated that she had just left from inside of her vehicle when she was accosted by two male persons who forced her into her house at gunpoint and they proceeded to ransack the residence, packaging a number of items. However, when they heard a vehicle approaching, presumably the police's mobile, they fled, making off with solely their jewelry because they were not able to take the other items that they had packaged."
Reporter "Was it simply a crime of opportunity or was she at a residence that's known to have high value items?"
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer "I believe incidents of such are not crimes of opportunity. That's why on previous occasions, I would have stated the importance of neighborhood watch and persons investing in security systems, cameras and persons simply just being aware of their surroundings because much like a few other incidents that I reported in the past in the same Cayo district, it happens when these persons are coming outside of their vehicle, which suggests that persons are laying in the wait. And I must say that on this occasion, it is because of the community's recognition of strange persons within their area that a call was made and police was able to intercede and bring this matter to the arrest that it has."
Last month, several ministers, as well as the Special Envoy agreed that the sex offenders registry should be publicly accessed. Currently, it exists but can only be accessed with written permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs. But yesterday, an amendment to the criminal code was introduced in the House of Representatives to make it public.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration, Labor, and Governance "The amendment expands the list of sexual offenses for which a convicted sexual offender becomes subject to sex notification requirements. There's also an amendment to section 65a, removing the requirement or need for a member of the public to apply for permission to have access to the national sex offenders database and instead to allow for general access to the public."
"I know that is one that has attracted a lot of public debate but I believe that putting it in the hands of the public to have access can only create greater measures of safety and security for families and their children."
That bill was introduced for first readings and now goes to Committee.
Sittee River, a Creole village, and Hopkins, a Garifuna village, are in the midst of a boundary review process and last night the Sittee River Village Council issued a public statement addressing it.
The council emphasized that Sittee River - which was established in the 1800s-has long been a welcoming community, attracting residents, investors, and visitors from diverse backgrounds both within Belize and internationally.
The council noted that the village's growth has been shaped by people of different cultures and nationalities and pledged to continue working collaboratively with all members of the community.
Addressing concerns surrounding the boundary review, the council stated that its objective is not to create division with neighboring communities but to achieve clarity and certainty for future development. According to the council, clearly established boundaries are essential for effective planning,
infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, land management, public services, and good governance.
The council stressed that both communities share a long history as neighbors and expressed a commitment to maintaining mutual respect, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence regardless of the outcome of the review process.
27 year old call center employee Jassiem Bent was arraigned this morning on charges of rape of a child, attempted rape, and harm. This follows allegations by a 12 year old primary school student that she was raped after she and two friends, who are also minors, went to Lion King Club on King Street with two men on May 25th. When the victim went to use the bathroom, one of the men she was with followed her and raped her.
After the incident, the victim went back to the bar with her friends. Afterwards, the three minors and the two men went to Bent's home where Bush allegedly tried to rape her again. However, she bit him twice, causing him to let her go.
No plea was taken from Bent and he was remanded until August 24th.
The flesh-eating New World screwworm has officially reached the United States after tearing through Central America and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the country's first domestic livestock case in decades after the parasite was discovered in a three-week-old calf in Texas.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state is working closely with federal agencies to contain the invasive pest. The USDA has already established a 20-kilometer control zone and is deploying millions of sterile male flies to disrupt the reproductive cycle of wild populations. Meanwhile, Mexican cattle producers are waiting to see what will happen; the U.S. had already closed its southern border to live Mexican livestock imports last year as a preventative measure.
The government has implemented a six month moratorium on mining and dredging activities in the Placencia Lagoon and Ambergris Caye. Today we spoke with the Manatee Man, Jamal Galvez, who explained that the lagoon in particular has taken hit after hit and desperately needs this time to recover. He added that the effects of the dredging on the environment can be seen in the blood samples of the manatees in the area.
Jamal Galvez, Program Coordinator, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize "The moratorium is significant, it's way more than people may see it to be but that Placencia Lagoon is a very important habitat, not just for manatees but crocodiles, sport fishing, birds, all different species, but it has been beaten and has had any break at all so this moratorium I believe it's going to give it the much needed break for it to start that recovery process, it's not going to happen in one months, it's not going to happen in two months, so I hope that the government holds for it, put measures in place to put that moratorium in place and it's not just a moratorium on paper, it's actionable, it's enforceable."
"Everybody in that community, if you're in a boat, if you live near the lagoon, you're the observer, you're the police of that area and when you see something, you have to say something, report it, document it so that the media can cover it so that we hold these individuals accountable because in the end, only us in Belize are going to lose. Placencia beach has already been devastated by sargassum and now we're having this problem in the lagoon system, we're running down that important tourism destination so we want to safeguard that jewel and this I believe is going to help significantly."
"When you drive that lagoon and you see those heavy equipment literally taking down our resources, it hurts, it's significant. I've been working in the Placencia Lagoon for 20 years and I've literally seen the decline and it's gotten to the point where it's almost there so I think the moratorium is timely, it's going to take time but for me, having that in place is important for our conservation efforts because we've worked there for 20 years we've seen the declines in manatees health, we've taken blood samples from manatees and I can tell you 20 years ago to now is a significant difference."
And we asked Galvez what he thought about Albert Loewen's comment that dredging in the Placencia Lagoon was actually beneficial to the marine life because, as Loewen puts it, "all wildlife loves deeper water."
Galvez explained that this is completely inaccurate.
Jamal Galvez, Program Coordinator, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize "They didn't go there for deeper waters, if they wanted deeper waters, they would have gone to open sea. These lagoons provide shelter for these areas, because it's sheltered under the mangroves, it's not rough, it's not deep, it's specifically why they're there, because seagrass grows better in shallow water. You're making the water deeper doesn't help. What they're doing is tearing out the sediments, disturbing the soil, murky the trace elements that eventually makes its way to the seagrass, manatees actually eat seagrass. And when manatee take in these sediments, we see it in the blood samples."
"These trace elements are elements that they cannot get rid of. It doesn't kill them but it affects their longevity, it affects their productivity, their lifestyle, their livelihood, so that is significant. Making the lagoon deeper is not the point."
Belize has officially taken the helm of the Caribbean Development Bank, assuming the rotating Chairmanship of the Board of Governors during the closing ceremony of the bank's 56th Annual Meeting in Nassau.
The transition marks a major milestone for Belize, which was also announced as the official host country for the 57th Annual Meeting in June 2027. Belize last chaired the board and hosted the event over three decades ago, in May 1994.
Dr. Osmond Martinez, Belize's alternate Governor to the CDB, accepted the leadership role on behalf of Prime Minister John Briceno.
The Belize National Unmanned Aircraft System Industry Association - which is an advocacy group for drone operators - issued a press release today stating that they have been trying to collaborate with the Department of Civil Aviation so that manned and unmanned aircraft can coexist safely, but they have not received responses from the department. According to the release, BNUIA believes the department is trying to rush through the process; instead of meaningfully consulting, they are trying to implement restrictions that will damage Belize's drone industry. In addition, they issued a Freedom of Information request over 30 days ago and still have not gotten a response.
Today, we spoke with the president, who explained more.
Will Moreno, President, BNUIA "We've been attempting to reach out to the Belize Department of Civil Aviation to meet with them, go over the entire document, line by line to make sure we get this thing right, we have to get this thing right. In Belize they say we have a unique air system, but if we had a unique air system then it would be in their best interest to go through it with the stakeholders and all the drone operators to let them know this is what we need to do. Belize again like they say is unique, but what makes it so unique? That's what we've been asking because there's other Caribbean countries and other Central American counties that has airspace similar to ours. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, what we need to do is to come to common sense regulations that works for Belize."
"What we had requested in the FOIA is basically statistical data that would have proven from the BDCA why they are being so strict and why the regulations are being overly stringent on the drone operators because if you look at the actual document and i've said it in my last interview, the legalese or the verbiage of it is so, the regular person will not understand it, it needs to be understandable. If you can't understand it, how can you follow a rule that you can't understand."
"There's so many industries right now that are utilizing drones, from mining to GIS which is mapping, they're doing it for archeology, they're doing it for conservation, they're doing it for real estate, they're doing it for tourism, for cinematography and so many others, I can't miss agriculture. It is very important in many of these industries and there's so many industries that have yet to use drones. Belize is behind the curve when it comes to using drones but putting or implementing regulations that basically ground the drone operators is not in the best interest because they don't have the technology, they don't have the manpower, they don't have the enforcement, to put something in place and follow up with the enforcement of it."
The Association has issued a notice of a FOIA breach to the CEO of Civil Aviation, BDCA and other ministries.
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It's the murder plot that has transfixed and rattled the nation: a 26-year-old laboratory scientist from Belmopan allegedly contracted a 37-year-old Roaring Creek resident to kill her colleague Dr Naun Bonilla - with whom she had an ongoing business dispute.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney for Edwin Bethran Jr 
Angel Bonilla, Brother
Gianni Alamilla, Pharmacist 
But a concern for many including his family is whether or not the charge of murder will stick on to Foreman being that she was not at at the scene. She allegedly hired hitman Bethran to do the deed but never pulled the trigger herself. Despite this, police were able to explain how for the first time in history a charge like this has been laid:
At the top of the newscast you saw the arraignment of the two persons accused of Dr Naun Bonilla's murder.
"The final straw that took my brother make the decision to take this to court was with the NHI contract that they had bid for. When the contract was, when they won the bid, they still hadn't signed the contract, she had corresponded back to NHI stating that the contract would be signed under a different business name, a business that had nothing to do with my brother. Now being my brother was part of the application, they called him to say, Bonilla, what is happening, because we just received this correspondence and he said categorically this business has nothing to do with me, this business is not my business, I have no interest in this business, and this contract cannot be signed because that business is not the one that we bid under. We found out that business belonged solely to Ms Hannah Foreman."
Justice was served late this afternoon in the Belize High Court as a dual guilty verdict was handed down against 31-year-old Shaquille Perrera for a brazen Christmas Eve shooting that left one man dead and another fighting for his life.
Yesterday, a home invasion was reported in Cristo Rey village, but quick police work resulted in the apprehension of one man and the seizure of a firearm. In this case, the neighborhood watch had a big part to play in the arrests:
"The amendment expands the list of sexual offenses for which a convicted sexual offender becomes subject to sex notification requirements. There's also an amendment to section 65a, removing the requirement or need for a member of the public to apply for permission to have access to the national sex offenders database and instead to allow for general access to the public."
27 year old call center employee Jassiem Bent was arraigned this morning on charges of rape of a child, attempted rape, and harm. This follows allegations by a 12 year old primary school student that she was raped after she and two friends, who are also minors, went to Lion King Club on King Street with two men on May 25th. When the victim went to use the bathroom, one of the men she was with followed her and raped her.
The flesh-eating New World screwworm has officially reached the United States after tearing through Central America and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the country's first domestic livestock case in decades after the parasite was discovered in a three-week-old calf in Texas.
The government has implemented a six month moratorium on mining and dredging activities in the Placencia Lagoon and Ambergris Caye. Today we spoke with the Manatee Man, Jamal Galvez, who explained that the lagoon in particular has taken hit after hit and desperately needs this time to recover. He added that the effects of the dredging on the environment can be seen in the blood samples of the manatees in the area.
"Everybody in that community, if you're in a boat, if you live near the lagoon, you're the observer, you're the police of that area and when you see something, you have to say something, report it, document it so that the media can cover it so that we hold these individuals accountable because in the end, only us in Belize are going to lose. Placencia beach has already been devastated by sargassum and now we're having this problem in the lagoon system, we're running down that important tourism destination so we want to safeguard that jewel and this I believe is going to help significantly."
Belize has officially taken the helm of the Caribbean Development Bank, assuming the rotating Chairmanship of the Board of Governors during the closing ceremony of the bank's 56th Annual Meeting in Nassau.
"We've been attempting to reach out to the Belize Department of Civil Aviation to meet with them, go over the entire document, line by line to make sure we get this thing right, we have to get this thing right. In Belize they say we have a unique air system, but if we had a unique air system then it would be in their best interest to go through it with the stakeholders and all the drone operators to let them know this is what we need to do. Belize again like they say is unique, but what makes it so unique? That's what we've been asking because there's other Caribbean countries and other Central American counties that has airspace similar to ours. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, what we need to do is to come to common sense regulations that works for Belize."
