Belize in shock after gunmen kill 23-year-old pregnant woman

Belize: A brutal attack that claimed the life of a young mother along with her unborn child in broad daylight has the nation of Belize suffering with grief and outrage. Twenty-three-year-old Jane Urbina was attacked by gunmen on a motorcycle on Saturday, June 20, in an open fire when she had just left the Belize Central Prison after a visit with her brother and was waiting at a Hattieville bus stop beside her mother.

The ruthless attack was witnessed by the victim's mother and has shattered the family and the whole country that are demanding answers from the authorities. As the police investigations are ongoing to hunt the killers, the family and friends of Urbina are reminiscing the memories of her excitement about becoming a mother to a baby boy.

While the details surrounding the intent behind such a brutal and targeted act that cut short two lives and shattered the future of a young family remains unclear, a wave of grief is sweeping the country.

According to reports, Jane was seven months pregnant at the time of the attack. She was killed instantly, turning what should have been a season of joy and anticipation into one of unimaginable loss.

Through a phone call to News 5, Jane’s boyfriend shared how the couple last met on Friday morning and he still can’t process the loss of her girlfriend and unborn child.

“The last time I saw her da mi di Friday mawning before she left because she spent the whole week out ya with me She just mi so happy. I'm just mi blind . I never see the sign. To God it just really hurt me. I just can’t believe this. I still cya process this. I need to know how I feel. From then to now I will be real I neem eat nothing,” he said.

He further told the media channel that the baby Urbina was carrying was a boy, ans was to be named after him. He said they were both so happy with Jane’s pregnancy and the journey through it.

“The last time I messaged she, we just had a good time and everything about the baby. She just mi cya wait fi meet the baby and we wa know how di baby looked and lots of things. Just a mom and dad thing. We just mi sho happy,” he shared.

Urbina’s killing has left a devastating mark on her mother, who witnessed the whole attack. Her friends says that the trauma is unimaginable.

Urbina’s close friend, Whitney Hyde described the grief as overwhelming, saying that the pain in the family is raw and deeply felt.

“Her mom especially, I can’t imagine her mom pain because we spoke late in the morning the day that Jane died, and her mom said that Jane was begging her to, “Mom, please, please help me. Please give me air. I can’t breathe.” And when her mom told me those words, I burst into tears because I didn’t expect someone would want to kill Jane so brutally,” she shared through a phone call with News 5.

Investigators are now working to figure out the motive behind this killing, including whether it’s linked to the 2025 murder of Kevin DePaz, a case that involves Jane Urbina’s brother, Lionel Urbina, who was sent to the prison as Jane had just visited her brother at the Belize Central Prison on the day she was killed too.