Arthur Hill Sentenced to Life for Aldana’s Murder

Thirty-year-old Arthur “Turo” Hill has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his brother-in-law, nineteen-year-old Levan Christopher Aldana. Justice Candace Nanton ruled that Hill must serve at least twenty-nine years before he can apply for parole. His sentence was backdated to February first, 2024, when he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison. Hill was convicted on July sixteenth following a trial without a jury. Prosecutors Robert Lord and Joseph Perez relied mainly on circumstantial evidence, including Aldana’s final statement identifying Hill as his attacker. Witnesses testified that Hill and Aldana were socializing together shortly before the stabbing on January thirty-first, 2024. Hill was later seen shirtless, barefoot and sweating before obtaining a red shirt and slippers from a neighbor. When he surrendered to police, an officer reportedly saw what appeared to be blood on his elbow. Aldana suffered three stab wounds, two to the neck and one to the abdomen. In sentencing Hill, Justice Nanton considered the use of a knife, Aldana’s suffering and the seriousness of the crime. Aldana’s mother, Tracey Meighan, cried in court as she described the pain of losing her firstborn son. In her victim impact statement, she recalled seeing him badly wounded during a video call and later learning that he had died on the way to the hospital. “Part of me died too,” she told the court. Hill, who was represented by attorney Norman Rodriguez, maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

 

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