A former Colorado real estate developer was gunned down in a suspected targeted attack inside his luxury Caribbean beachside resort where he built his “barefoot paradise” and invested heavily.
Boris Mannsfeld, the eponymous founder of Boris Mannsfeld and Associates, was found lying face down in a pool of blood at the Villas of Cocoplum in Maya Beach, Belize on Feb. 21, reported Breaking Belize News citing police.
The 56-year-old suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of the neck.
Police found a loaded 9mm pistol registered to Mannsfeld, his wallet with cash and ID and a shell casing on the floor near his body.
Questions surrounding his murder were raised as two of Mannsfeld’s known associates were also killed during similar attacks over the past two years.
Ricardo Borja and Darren Taylor were killed in separate murders in September 2023 and April 2024 respectively, the outlet reported.
Belize Police Commissioner Chester Williams noted that the developer, a licensed Colorado real estate agent based in Denver for more than 10 years, had been in and out of the country since the deaths of Borja and Taylor.
Mannsfeld had returned to the small Central American nation the day he was killed, police revealed.
“(Mannsfeld’s murder) has all indications of a hit,” Williams said during a press conference, according to The Denver Post.
One suspect, identified as Frik De Meyere, believed to be linked to Mannsfeld’s death was taken into custody.
De Meyere was sought as a person of interest in the death of Borja but no official charges have been filed and the September 2023 death remains open, the outlet reported.
Several people have been charged in Taylor’s murder and are awaiting their trials.
No motives or links have been identified connecting the three deaths.
Mannsfeld spoke about a “massive fraud case” involving millions in stolen assets through an email in January, BreakingBelizeNews reported.
He was a part of a $3.9 million lawsuit brought up against a former associate of his, the outlet added.
Mannsfeld claimed to have fallen in love with Belize since his first trip to the Caribbean country in 1992, visiting the area every year since then.
He built his new home in 2006 to watch his “investments” and where his children learned to swim.
The Villas at Cocoplum was his first major project and is claimed to be “one of the most desired addresses in Belize.”
Along with his vast real estate portfolio, Mannsfeld was a founder of the Placencia Volunteer Fire Department, the local emergency response team and a sworn Belize Police officer, according to his website
