Belize Couple: A Murder Mystery

On May 1, 2017, the bodies of Francesca Matus, 52, and her boyfriend, Drew DeVoursney, 36, were found in a sugar cane field in Belize, six days after they were last seen leaving a bar. The couple, who were Canadian and American respectively, had been reported missing by a friend, Joseph Milholen, who was supposed to drive Matus to the airport the morning after they were last seen. Autopsies later revealed that they had been strangled to death, with duct tape found on their wrists. Despite two arrests, the case remains unsolved.

Drew DeVoursney and Francesca Matus were found dead in a sugar cane field

On May 1, 2017, the bodies of Drew DeVoursney and Francesca Matus were found in a sugar cane field in Belize. The couple had been reported missing a few days earlier, after they failed to show up for their respective flights back to their home countries. DeVoursney, 36, was an American citizen and a former Marine who had served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Matus, 52, was a Canadian citizen who lived part of the year in Belize.

The couple was last seen on the night of April 25 at Scotty's Bar and Grill in Corozal Town, Belize. A friend, Joseph Milholen, told police that he had planned to drive Matus to the airport the next morning, but when he arrived at her home, she and her car were missing, and only DeVoursney's bicycle was in the driveway.

On May 1, a farmer discovered the bodies of DeVoursney and Matus tangled together in a sugar cane field. Autopsies revealed that the couple had been strangled to death, and their wrists had tape on them. Their deaths were ruled homicides, but no suspects or motives have been identified. Two people were detained in connection with the case, one of whom was a Canadian citizen, but they were later cleared.

The murders of DeVoursney and Matus remain unsolved, and their families are still seeking answers. The case highlights the high rate of violent crime in Belize, a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world. Despite the involvement of multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the investigation has stalled due to a lack of resources and long-distance communication challenges.

The couple was found with duct tape on their wrists

The bodies of Francesca Matus and Drew DeVoursney were found in a sugar cane field in Belize, with duct tape around their wrists. The couple, who had been dating for a few months, was last seen in a restaurant on April 25, 2017, in Corozal. They were found outside the nearby village of Chan Chen.

Matus, 52, and DeVoursney, 36, were both in an "advanced stage of decomposition" when they were discovered. Autopsies revealed that they had been strangled, and their deaths were ruled homicides. Their wrists were bound with duct tape, according to police.

The couple's friend, Brandon Barfield, started a GoFundMe page called "Bring Drew Home" after their disappearance. After their deaths, the page transitioned to a fundraiser for finding justice.

DeVoursney's mother, Char, was informed of her son's death by the U.S. Embassy in Belize, who told her that he and Matus had been murdered and found with duct tape around their wrists. Char shared her devastation, expressing that she always feared her son, a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be killed in combat but instead lost his life while on vacation.

The investigation into the couple's murders is ongoing, and authorities continue to work with the U.S. Embassy and Canadian consulate in Belize.

Their bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition

The bodies of Francesca Matus and Drew DeVoursney were found in a sugar cane field in Belize, six days after they were last seen. Their bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, with DeVoursney's body on top of Matus'. They were found tangled together, with duct tape on their right wrists, though their wrists were not bound together. Autopsies ruled that the cause of death for both was strangulation.

The couple had been reported missing by their friend, Joseph Milholen, who was supposed to drive Matus to the airport the morning after they were last seen. When he arrived at her home, she was not there, and her car was gone, though DeVoursney's bicycle was in her driveway. The car was later found in a field, stripped of almost everything, including the battery.

The advanced state of decomposition of Matus' and DeVoursney's bodies, along with the duct tape on their wrists, suggests that they may have been restrained and left in the field for some time before they were found. The heat and humidity of the tropical climate in Belize could have accelerated the decomposition process, making it difficult to determine exactly how long they had been dead.

The discovery of their bodies in such a state must have been a distressing and traumatic experience for their loved ones and those who found them. The fact that their wrists were not bound together, despite the tape, suggests that they may have struggled to free themselves or that someone removed the tape after they died.

The advanced decomposition of the bodies also presented challenges for the investigation. The local pathologist who performed the autopsies faced difficulties due to limited resources, and the families had to make a quick decision about what to do with the bodies, as the morgue would not accept partially decomposed remains.

The couple was strangled to death

Matus and DeVoursney were last seen on April 25, 2017, at Scotty's Bar and Grill in Corozal Town, Belize. They had been reported missing by their friend Joseph Milholen, who went to Matus's home in the Corozal district on Friday to take her to the airport as she was scheduled to fly to Toronto. When he arrived, she was not there, and her car was gone, although DeVoursney's bicycle was parked in her driveway.

On May 1, 2017, a farmer discovered the bodies of Matus and DeVoursney. Their wrists were found with tape on them, but they were not bound together. The couple's deaths are being investigated as homicides, and authorities have detained two people in connection with the case, one of whom is a Canadian citizen. However, no suspects or motives have been identified.

The murders of Matus and DeVoursney remain unsolved. Belize has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and the U.S. State Department advises caution in less urban areas, noting that "many Western expatriates were killed in rural areas of Belize" in 2015 and 2016.

The case remains unsolved

The case of Francesca Matus and Drew DeVoursney's murder remains unsolved. The couple was found dead in a Belize sugar cane field on May 1, 2017, six days after they were last seen. Matus, a 52-year-old Canadian woman, and DeVoursney, her 36-year-old American boyfriend, were found with their bodies tangled together, having died of strangulation. Despite the involvement of the FBI and the detention of two people, one of whom was Canadian, in connection with the case, there have been no developments, and the Belize murder investigation remains open.

The couple was last seen on April 25, 2017, at Scotty's Bar and Grill in Corozal Town, Belize. A friend, Joseph Milholen, was supposed to drive Matus to the airport the next morning as she was flying back to Toronto, Canada. When he arrived at her home, she and her car were missing, and only DeVoursney's bicycle was in the driveway. After Milholen reported their disappearance, a massive search was set off by local police and expats.

Five days later, on April 30, a hunter found Matus's white 1998 Isuzu Rodeo in a field, stripped of almost everything, including the battery. The next day, on May 1, the couple's bodies were found about six kilometres away, in an advanced state of decomposition, with DeVoursney's body on top of Matus's. They were both partially clothed in the same clothes they had been wearing the night before, and their wrists had tape on them, though they were not bound together.

Autopsies ruled that the couple died of strangulation, but the motive remains unknown. Authorities have not released any information on possible suspects or motives, and there are currently no leads in the case. The families of Matus and DeVoursney have lost hope that the murder will ever be solved, citing the lack of resources and progress in the investigation.

Frequently asked questions