Belize woman accused of burning down house seen smiling outside court

Belize: A Maskall Village woman has been charged with arson as the fire burned down and destroyed the home she shared with her boyfriend. Vayda Ashanti August, a 21-year-old unemployed labourer, appeared before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on Monday, August 3. She was arraigned on a single count of arson at the court.

Videos surfacing over the internet feature August leaving the court, following her bail, she is seen smiling and showing no remorse over her actions. She was further seen taking a phone call, while hiding her face with the court papers.

According to the police reports, August intentionally set fire to a 16-by-24-foot wooden and zinc house on Saturday, August 1. The house belonged to 33-year-old Jose David Recinos.

Reports indicate that the house and its contents were approximately valued at $35,000. Everything had been completely destroyed.

Prosecution alleged that August and Recinos were reportedly separating, for which a man was hired to help August remove her belongings from the residence. However, immediately after the items were removed and loaded into a pickup truck, August confessed to the driver that she had set the house on fire.

The blaze immediately grew even though the driver and other people tried to control and extinguish it, but were unsuccessful. Following the blaze, Recinos filed a report against August, for which she was later detained.

Preliminary reports state that no plea was accepted because prosecutors are awaiting instructions from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether the case will proceed summarily or on indictment.

August was ordered not to contact Recinos or members of his family and to remain at least 100 yards away from places he lives, worlds or visits. She was granted a bail of $10,000, along with two sureties of $5,000 each with the above conditions and to report to the Maskall Police Station every Wednesday.

Along with that, the court ruling stated that she must reside with her mother and notify the court of any changes of address. August is now scheduled to return to court on September 23, 2026.