Colorado Real Estate Developer Found Murdered in Belize, Police Suspect Targeted Hit
Boris Mannsfeld, a prominent Colorado real estate developer, was found dead Friday night at his luxury villa complex, The Villas at Cocoplum, in Maya Beach, Belize, Fox News reports.
The 56-year-old was discovered face down in his yard with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of his head, according to local media reports.
Belize Police Commissioner Chester Williams has indicated that the death bears the hallmarks of a professional hit.
Mannsfeld, who established his development firm, Boris Mannsfeld and Associates, in Belize in 2010 after moving to the country with his family in 2006, sold condos, land plots and other properties in Belize, also involving himself in hotel projects, a concrete company and a renewable energy company. He first visited the country in 1992 and ultimately made it his permanent home.
Police recovered a loaded 9mm pistol, Mannsfeld’s wallet, and a spent shell casing near his body. One suspect, Frik De Meyere, a former employee of Mannsfeld’s, is currently in custody, though formal charges have yet to be filed.
De Meyere has previously been implicated in the 2023 murder of Ricardo Borja, another employee of Mannsfeld’s company. Borja, prior to his death, claimed De Meyere was involved in a land fraud scheme and had planned to present evidence to legal counsel, a real estate agency, and the government’s special crime unit.
Police are also investigating a possible connection between Mannsfeld’s murder and the death of Darren Taylor, another individual connected to Mannsfeld’s business, who was killed in 2024.
Adding to the intrigue, local outlet Amandala reported that in a January email, Mannsfeld alluded to a “massive fraud case” involving millions in stolen assets and his involvement in a $3.9 million lawsuit against a former associate. Commissioner Williams acknowledged that Mannsfeld’s murder could be linked to the deaths of Borja and Darren Taylor.
