Family of Accused Triple Murderer Produces Surveillance Alibi
Police say they’ve cracked the case behind last week’s triple murder in San Pedro, but the suspect’s family is calling that claim far from airtight. Twenty two year old fisherman Shelby Hernandez is set to be charged for the execution style killings of Karim Espat, Oscar Mas and Yerlin Bueso Alvarez. But even before the charge is filed, his relatives are pushing back hard, insisting he didn’t pull the trigger and was actually at home at the time. They say surveillance footage backs them up. News Five’s Shane Williams takes a closer look at the growing clash between the official police narrative and a family fighting to clear their son’s name.
Karim Espat and Oscar Mas
Shane Williams, Reporting…
Police believe they are closing in on those responsible for the brazen triple murder that has shaken San Pedro. Investigators say multiple gunmen stormed a home and opened fire, killing Karim Espat and Oscar Mas on the spot, while Yerlin Bueso Alvarez later succumbed to her injuries. Now, twenty-two-year-old fisherman Shelby Hernandez is behind bars and expected to be charged. Authorities describe the arrest as a major development in the case.
Stacy Smith
ASP Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“On Saturday, March twenty-first, 2026, police formerly arrested and charged twenty-two-year-old Shelby Jonathan Hernandez, a Belizean fisherman of San Pedro town for three counts of murder. Hernandez is known to police, having been recently convicted of being a member of a gang, namely the San Pedro Crips Gang.”
But as police move ahead with their case, Hernandez’s family is refuting those allegations. They insist he was at home with relatives at the exact time of the shooting, and they say surveillance video proves it. Speaking by phone, his brother, John Carlos Hernandez, told News Five the entire family can vouch for where he was that night.
On the Phone: John Carlos Hernandez, Brother of Accused
“When that thing happened all ah we mi deh home: me, my mom, my pa, my brother, by brother gyal, my sister and then everybody mi deh home – my lee bredda weh de da high school, everybody mi deh home.”
Paul Lopez
“But how do you prove that?”
Shelby Jonathan Hernandez
John Carlos Hernandez
“Well we got evidence right ya da di – cause we got cameras da we house and we got evidence that he, the show that he mi de right ya da di yard when he come out ah ih room nine-fifteen. Nine-nineteen, he come out ah ih room and then he come out and brush ih teeth and from then he gone right back in ih room. And then nine- thirty-six he walk right out again and then he gone back inna ih room. And then nine-forty-one he walk out again and he gone back inna ih room. We got all of them video footages and all ah we could go and say how he mi da the house at the moment when that happen.”
Police say they requested and reviewed the footage, but investigators maintain it wasn’t enough to rule Hernandez out as a suspect.
ASP Stacy Smith
“In my discussions with the investigator they said yes they, in fact, visited the family pretty shortly after the incident as soon as that information came known to them. In the interest of conducting a thorough investigation, the video footage was extracted; however, it was not able to conclusively support their version of events and based on the investigation and the evidence gathered so far, that is what led police to the charges that have been proffered.”
Yerlin Bueso Alvarez
On the other hand, the family believes the arrest is premature and driven by pressure to bring quick answers in a case that has left the island on edge.
John Carlos Hernandez
“He know he innocent. You understand? And we got all ah the videos them. All ah my family know he innocent. They just do that because they the pressure them fi charge somebody. You understand? Like how I tell yo, they the pressure them because they want make it look like they the do their job.”
Hernandez’s family continues to challenge the evidence against him, while relatives of the three murder victims demand justice and assurance that everyone responsible will be held accountable. Shane Williams for News Five.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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