Police Officer to Stand Trial for Hattieville Double Murder

A police officer accused of killing his former mother-in-law and her twin brother in Hattieville will stand trial for two counts of murder. 26-year-old Orvin Justin Williams was committed to stand trial yesterday following a preliminary inquiry in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court. His case will go before the January 2027 session of the High Court, which begins on January 18.  Williams is accused of fatally shooting 57-year-old twins Paula Belisle and Paul Esquillano on September 15, 2025. Police say the siblings were at a house on Ysaguirre Boulevard when a gunman arrived in a vehicle, entered the property and shot them before driving away. Esquillano was found dead inside the house. Belisle died while being transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.  During yesterday’s inquiry, the prosecution submitted sixteen statements, along with documentary exhibits it intends to rely on at trial. Williams was represented by attorney Gilroy Usher Junior. He remains on interdiction from the Police Department pending the outcome of the case.  Investigators say surveillance footage helped them identify a vehicle of interest, which was later located in Belize City and determined to be a rental. Williams was initially detained and released in early October last year. Police detained him again on October 10 after obtaining what they described as new evidence. He was subsequently charged with both murders..