Third Suspect Charged in Gruesome Belmopan Taxi Driver Murders

A third suspect has been charged and arraigned in connection with the gruesome deaths of Belmopan taxi drivers Marvin Cante and Juan Carlos Raymundo. The newest suspect, 20-year-old Ronald Steadman Frazer, a laborer from Ontario Village in the Cayo District, was arraigned this morning at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on two counts of murder. Frazer, who appeared unrepresented, was denied bail due to the severity of the charges and has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison until February 12, 2025. Frazer now joins two other suspects—21-year-olds Karl Lindo and Christopher Alexander Smith Jr.—who were previously charged and remanded earlier this week for the same crime. Cante and Raymundo were reported missing on November 27. On November 28, 2024, authorities discovered a vehicle abandoned at Mile 24 on the George Price Highway. Bloodstains on the backseat and the absence of its occupants raised alarm. Investigators soon learned the car had been rented by Cante and Raymundo, who had been missing since the previous day. Family members reported both men missing. Cante’s common-law wife, Maria Olivia Beltran, told police her husband left home early to drop their daughter off at school and was expected to work his usual taxi route. When he failed to answer calls and didn’t return home, her concerns grew. Similarly, Raymundo’s girlfriend, Rosa Esmeralda Alonzo, recounted that he had dropped her and their sons off before leaving in a rush without revealing his destination. The vehicle, later identified as the one found abandoned, was rented by Raymundo from a neighbor. The investigation took a grim turn when, on December 12, 2024, police unearthed two dismembered bodies from a shallow grave in the American New Site area of Hattieville. The remains were confirmed to be those of Cante and Raymundo. Police quickly acted on leads, detaining and charging Lindo and Smith Jr. with the murders on December 16, 2024. Frazer was arrested two days later. Police say the murders are believed to be drug-related.  The trio is expected to appear together in court on February 12, 2025.