Colorado Real Estate Developer Shot Dead at Luxury Belize Resort: Reports

A Colorado real estate developer has been shot dead at a luxury resort in Belize, per local media reports.

On Friday, Feb. 21, Boris Mannsfeld, 56, was found face down with a single gunshot wound to the back of the neck at Cocoplum Villas in Maya Beach, per Breaking Belize News. 

The outlet stated a loaded 9mm pistol had been found nearby, as well as a bullet shell casing and the victim’s wallet containing cash and ID.

The luxury villas were one of the victim’s development projects, his company’s website confirmed.

Mannsfeld’s body was found by police at around 9 p.m. local time, per 7 News Belize. The publication stated that no surveillance footage was available.

The victim moved to Belize in 2006 from the U.S. after he “fell in love with Placencia on his first trip in 1992,” per his bio on his company’s site. He founded Boris Mannsfeld & Associates Belize Real Estate in 2010.

“His first major real estate project was the Villas at Cocoplum, considered by many as the #1 condo community on the Placencia peninsula and one of the most desired addresses in Belize,” a message on the site stated.

Per Channel 5 Belize, Mannsfeld had been involved in “several high-profile legal battles,” and had accused multiple people of fraud. 

In a January 2025 letter to clients, the victim wrote of a “massive fraud case” which was “extensive and involves the governments of numerous countries, money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, many fake passports, million and millions of dollars of stolen monies and property,” according to 7 News Belize.

The outlet stated that Mannsfeld said in the email that he was “involved in a contentious $3.9 million lawsuit against a former business associate.”

Mannsfeld’s death comes after two of his former associates were killed — Ricardo Borja in September 2023 and Darren Taylor in April 2024 — per Breaking Belize News. Both murders are yet to be solved.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.          

Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, told reporters in a news conference that police are “looking at the business transactions that Mr. Mannsfeld may have with other individuals, with a view to see if we will be able to close in on a possible motive and perhaps suspect,” according to a clip shared by Channel 5 Belize.

Williams said Mannsfeld’s murder “has all indications of a hit,” per the outlet.

He added of a possible connection between Mannsfeld’s killing and the deaths of Borja and Taylor, “It will not be wrong for one to assume that there may be some connection there, and we’re looking at that possibility,” Channel 5 Belize reported.

Belize Police Department and the Cocoplum Villas didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.