Grave Tampering Suspect Ordered Psychiatric Evaluation

Thirty-three-year-old Jonathan Abner Flores of Mile 15 on the George Price Highway is accused of desecrating a grave in Hattieville, according to police. Flores appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court today.

He is charged with Harm of a Dead Body and Disinterment of a Body. No plea was taken, as the court expressed concern over his mental state and ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

Police reported on Monday that the tomb of a 63-year-old woman, who had been buried a day earlier after dying of natural causes, had been tampered with on Sunday, March 1.

“The tomb had been broken, the front portion, and the body had been tampered with,” said the Head of the National Crimes Investigation Branch, ACP Hilberto Romero, on Monday.

A medical examiner later examined the remains and reinterred them.

During proceedings, Flores was reported to have had several loud outbursts.

The Senior Magistrate granted bail in the sum of $1,500. Flores was escorted to the Belize Central Prison after he was unable to meet bail requirements.