Patricia Lynn Nichiporowich was brutally murdered during a house invasion in her residence at Consejo Shores on the evening of October 29, 2013. Why, I am afraid we will never know?
Please understand that I was her partner, lover, soul mate and best friend. We had a beautiful relationship and she saved me from the slow death of loneliness and solved a medical problem that specialists could not solve that literally saved my life. I am devastated, anquished, angry and until recently was not rational enough to wrestle with the why, write or talk about it. When the perpetrator killed my Tricia he took part of my life with her. I am left with my anguish, my anger, and recently have regained my ability to think and analyze. My goal here is to use this incident to educate, help others who are in Belize or contemplating a move to Belize, and to be a catalyst for change to avoid future occurrences of this heinous act. Patricia spent much of her personal and business life helping others and I know she would approve.
Patricia was a kind, loving, helpful, considerate and compassionate woman who had no personal enemies that I was aware of and we were inseparable while in Belize. She loved Belize but was present on the Ex-Pat internet forums with sage advice to would be Ex-Pat immigrants- to educate themselves and experience Belize first before making a long term commitment with a large investment in real estate. She was particularly critical of Expat land developers, builders and specifically the Sanctuary development further south of Corozal in Belize. Patricia had a genius IQ and all her posts were supportable and well thought out. But many of her posts were also threatening to the economic interests of many of these Ex-Pat developers. She singled out no one except when she suspected them of being a shill or plant on the Sanctuary Belize blog or forum. She wanted to warn Ex-Pat retirees before they made an egregious mistake.
Let's set the probable scenario when the perpetrator approached the apartment the night of the crime. The perpetrator discovered an Izuzu Rodeo vehicle parked in front her 2nd story apartment as he approached. When he climbed the steps leading to the entrance to the veranda providing access to the apartment he found a metal gate locked. As he proceeded to seek an entry he probably heard a dog barking from the second story veranda or from inside the apartment. Patricia's chihuahua barked at everything that moved within 100 yards of the residence. More than likely the double doors providing the main entrance to the apartment were open as Patricia enjoyed the ocean breeze that was almost always prevalent, but if not the windows were. Notwithstanding this discouraging set of circumstances and knowledge that someone was at home, the perpetrator continued to attempt his access to the apartment by some how climbing a vertical wall to the veranda. I am suspicious that he was not there to steal, but because of the strange way the police have handled this investigation no one actually knows if anything has been stolen. I offered to talk and be questioned by telephone but the Corozal Police refused my offer. I could have and would have helped. The police don't know what valuables were in the apartment so how could they know if anything was stolen. I can say that after finally receiving an inventory from the police (what they removed from the apartment during their initial investigation) last week that there are many valuable pieces of computer equipment missing. Most importantly, so is Patricia's key chain which includes the keys to the residence.
I left the day before the home invasion to take a short 5 day trip to the States. The perpetrator probably knew this. He knew there was a woman home alone as he approached the apartment. There were workers next door who if they observed Patricia's comings and goings would have noted this. Our closest neighbor also has workers in and out who also may have been able to observe this. There were very few other people who specifically knew that I left that Monday.
Single women or women left alone while their husbands are away should be fearful and careful.
As the police have shown a complete lack of competency to solve this type of crime, the risk of repeating this type of crime is minimal to a criminal with no conscience. Why would he or they stop here.
Please read all of Patricia's posts on these forums, she posted under the name “nichi”.
Standby, the Ghost will return. If you remain interested I will be posting all over the forums here.
Patricia Lynn Nichiporowich, a Legacy
I am so sorry for your tragic, violent loss. My family suffered a loss (murder of my youngest child) Jan 6, 2013 and we have no answers either. I enjoyed reading all of "Nichi's" posts and felt like I knew her. Stay strong and hopefully, maybe not on this Earth, the evil ones will be held accountable for taking both our loved ones.
Please note that I have made a new post dated today, dated Dec 29, 2013 under the "Sanctuary Belize" topic. Patricia argued most vehemently there that one should spend time in Belize before deciding to make an investment in land or a residence. Even one of the more successful Ex-Pat developments, Consejo Shores, is littered with deserted residences for sale. Selling an existing Ex-Pat home in Belize can take years if one discovers after the fact that Belize is not what they want after all. Please do read the remainder of Patricia's posts there.
Our hearts break for you! Thinking of you,
H and B
Thank you for your post. I am so very sorry for your loss. Surely it is a terrible pain for you. I really liked Lynn and was shaken by her death. I made several posts on this blog under the topic, "horrible murder". Please keep posting. I have been concerned abouT you, as I knew you cared deeply for her. The police work has been note-worthy.
A few weeks ago a couple of gringos in Placentia were robbed and viciously beaten. The thieves stole their car and the following day the car was discovered in Chin Chin, a village near Consejo. One person was arrested there, then transferred to Belmopan and again transferred to Placentia. The following day, he was found dead in the sea. Pictures of 3 men were posted for a BOLO. One of our Corozal residents had her purse snatched. She identified the thief as one of the 3 men in the BOLO. Local police thought someone else was responsible. Also, the week before Lynn's murder,a Consejo resident came home to find her computer and camera missing, and noticed that a knife from her kitchen knife block had been moved to the front door. She did not report the theft as the items were not working, & were sitting out awaiting repair or discard. One of the 3 men in the BOLO is now dead and the other 2 have not been heard of since. Those of us expats who were concerned about the apprehension of Lynn's killers believed that her killer was one of the three thieves who harmed the Placentia couple. We also believed that the death of one of the perpetrators sent a strong message to would be thieves/killers. Now, I am not so sure. Two weekends ago there were another spate of 3-4 murders reported. One death was of a 57 yr old male gringo who was traveling with his wife and had been in the country only 3 days. The killer claimed he killed the gringo because he was having an affair with his wife! I do not think it is safe here for gringos.
Please do keep posting. There has been so much silly gossip in both the expat community and amongst the local Belizeans. hugs, David. Kristina Nadreau
i don't think anyone on here could ever apologize deep enough for you to feel some comfort from this storm but it won't stop anyone from trying. i can't imagine the pain you feel and i am so, so terribly sorry for your loss. the thought of experiencing that is absolutely gut wrenching. nobody deserves this. nobody.
i have been looking for somewhere to move in belize for the past few months. my move wouldn't take place until june-september of this year, 2014. this isn't the first time i've stumbled across something representative of us gringos not being safe in belize and it brings me to an interesting paradigm...
i am covered in tattoos. now, let me be specific about that. i'm... covered. in. tattoos. i have them on every toe, all four limbs sleeved completely, my neck is sleeved except for the very front, and i even have an anchor on my left eye. my back is empty, but my chest and stomach are covered as well. i have two gold teeth and i smile all day long. i am a well-educated and hard-working, and i'm looking to completely envelope myself and the family i desire to have upon my move into the community i choose.
will having tattoos single me out in a negative way? i'm used to being treated with a high level of animosity simply because people in the southern united states (aka, the bible belt) tend to be very conservative, however it's never slowed me down in an entrepreneurial sense. however culturally, will this be an impediment i should be concerned with?
Today I posted on the Sanctuary forum and will be back here in time. The Corozal Police continue to hold all of Patricia's and my valuables including business hardware and software that her son desperately needs to effectively continue business operations. I, we have been focused on this and have retained an attorney in Belize to assist with the recovery. The Canadian Embassy also made and appeal to the Vice President or Premiere of Belize. To this point we have accomplished nothing.
To be honest I have resisted writing more here or anywhere so as not to irritate Belize officialdom. My patience is being sorely tested. If the business fails because of this arbitrary action of the Belize police or officialdom I am going on the warpath.
Tricia is missed by everyone who knew her. I am still struggling with life without her. For those of you who remain in Corozal, please know that the monster is still amongst you. I still would like to know who and why. It just seems to me to be more than a robbery gone awry. Can anyone be so stupid as to not realize the difficulty of carrying loot as he descends down a vertical wall.
Be cautious and careful.
For those of you who remain interested Patricia is in the news. Please go to cbc.ca and then to the Vancouver section. Last night there was a news story that updates on the progress or should one say the lack of progress on solving her murder. The Corozal Police Dept. is useless and may be complicit. The Ex-Pat development community is not to be trusted and the country of Belize needs to be more attentive to safety of its new immigrants.
This is not a safe place for Ex-Pat North Americans.
A Memorial
Today, Saturday, April 26, a small group of family and friends will gather at 1:30 Pacific time to memorialize Patricia Lynn Nichiporowich. My desire is that some good ultimately flows from her death - a life saved, a house not robbed, a couple discouraged from buying overpriced land or homes, some police and govt. corruption or incompetence eradicated, a govt. that works for its people in some additional way, etc.
Losing life of a close relative or for that matter any life is a terrible tragedy. It is a very cruel crime. we depend on the local law enforcement for our safety. No country can progress without a good law enforcement and legal system. I hope the authorities in Belize will wake up and see what is happening to their country . I learned Belize is # 3 in the world for murder rate. Once the criminals take over we all lose, including the Government whose primary role is to protect the citizens ,residents and guests in their country , This may be the primary roll of any government.
Wonder we should convert all our talk on line in to action.
The expat community ( I assume there are many such Organizations in Belize ) should consolidate their voice and have a face to face meeting with the Top Government officials. I am very interested to be part of this group.
Maybe a meeting of interested parties in deferent localities may be good . The law enforcement officials and political leaders of both parties should be invited.
By having such a group in every district we may be able to track all violent crimes in each district and hopefully reduce such crimes. Something like neighborhood watch is not an idea to be dismissed. Tech devices like Surveillance camera, improved communications ,Alarm systems all can be discussed in a practical way that will benefit every body. We all should comb the news papers and other media and report all violent crimes to the Committee (Neighbourhood watch dog) . This in turn should result in working with law enforcement.
The watch dog group should follow up on the progress of each of these crime and report the success and failures of solving each case in the media including the local news paper.
I am on a FB page for expats in Belize the other participants do not want to admit there is a crime problem here. I understand that people do not wish to see their housing investment depreciate by half, so admitting the reality is not an option for them. I keep hearing, "crime is everywhere". this is true. It is a question of incidence. We lived in Aruba. They had 1 or 2 murders a year and few break-ins and no home invasions and no kidnappings. a big contrast. We looked at rental houses in Corozal. found a really nice one in Alta Mira. there were maybe 15-20 houses in a cluster. there were about 5 new very well kept homes. the others were wooden shacks. This is not unusual. then I noticed that all the new houses had concertina wire at the top of their fences. Decided against it.
Southern Belize seems to have less of a problem..I feel safe,but you still need to watch yourself,and keep your home locked..
Hi Kristinanadreau
Your posting add to the informations showing the urgency of reducing the violent Crime in Belize. We do not want to go down the path of part of Mexico where government almost lost to the criminals or compete with Honduras for first place in murder rate. I hope the media will take the crime as the foremost problem plaguing Belize. Wonder if other members on this forum who reside in Belize have any practical ideas. There is no choice other than getting involved. Posting on line helps to grasp the seriousness and magnitude of this problem.I believe there are plenty of postings about this subject . Now we need practical workable ideas from the members of this forum who are residence of Belize and thus have a vested interest in solving this very serious problem. We need to work with the law enforcement, but like any where in the world ordinary citizens have a big roll. The Boston Bomber was actually caught by an ordinary citizen in spite of city lock down.
The police are being investigated for theft of crime scenes. While the investigation is internal and will probably yield very little, it is a start. I do not know if my postings were a catalyst but I am happy that someone has taken notice. I can prove that theft at a crime scene has happened. Patricia would have approved.
North American Ex Pats please be aware that you are offered little protection in Corozal. Be alert and careful.
Also two people were caught in connection with a theft at Consejo Shores. Also a positive. However I found it disturbing that one of the perpetrators was released while the other was prosecuted and the police issued there pictures for future reference. Very suspicious!
Thank you David for posting your thoughts. The same had occurred to me this week. hugz kris
I have gone through all the postings probably a second time. I really hate to see Criminals terrorize this beautiful country.
This country has so much possibilities.
Expats add to the knowledge base which may eventually lead to Industries and jobs . I believe all the above postings help make a strong point .
Crime is everywhere . Strong police force with latest technology to find criminals may help. That will take money and determination. Hope Authorities in Belize will take a lot of interest to fight crime without which this country cannot progress.
This message is for the Ghost
I believe you are right about the persons responsible being out there as this has just happened again to a Canadian woman and her boyfriend. The bodies of Francesca Matus, 52, of Toronto, and Drew DeVoursney, 36. Makes one wonder
I hope they find them and I also hope you get some closure regarding Lynn
I also believe the same set of murderous thieves who harmed the couple from Placencia, also murdered Nichi, and now Drew and Francesca. Local police are not trained to solve crimes, there is almost no available forensics and no real interest by members of the government in the criminal justice system. Belize is not a safe place.
I was attacked at my home behind a locked gate mid afternoon, by a would be fruit seller. he distracted me by reaching thru the bars with a piece of fruit when I looked down at the fruit, he reached through the bars with his other hand, grabbed for a small gold necklace visible at the neckline of my tee shirt. He missed the small necklace instead grabbing the front of my tee and getting a grip on the much larger gold necklace which was under my Tee. He ripped the front of my shirt pulling& breaking my necklace. since my necklace was heavy links it did not break easily which slammed me into the bars of the gate bruising my forehead and gashing the skin on the back of my hands. The bloody mess took over 2 months to heal. In spite of an accurate description of the assailant, and information of where he hangs out and pictures of the necklace, the police have done nothing.
Hello Christina, this is Helena. we went through the the event of the Nichi murder together in Corozal.
This was profoundly devastating to me.
I left Belize for the safety of Mexico less than 1 year later.
Yes, the SAFETY of Mexico, as weird as that sounds!
I have since left that region completely, but am still concerned for those that still live in and visit Belize. I feel that some of the residents are so much in denial of the violent nature of the country they adopted, which doesn't help them at all in resolving this pressing problem.
I hope you are well.
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