One Week After Bullet Tree Stabbing, Suspect Arrested

One week after the brutal killing of Canadian businesswoman Marty Ann Thorne, police have made an arrest.

On Monday, November 17, investigators formally charged 25-year-old Gian Eldred Waight, a construction worker from Cayo, with Thorne’s murder. Waight was located in Guatemala, where he was detained and handed over to Belizean authorities.

Thorne, the beloved owner of Raw Spa Cabañas in Bullet Tree Falls, had lived in Belize for decades.

Neighbour and long-time friend Michael Waight described his devastation upon learning of the tragedy, “I knew Ms. Thorn. We are like family. I know her from the time she came in Belize… I never believed what’s happened to her. I was really sad what happened.”

Thorne is remembered as a kind, gentle woman whose character, friends say, would never provoke such violence. Those close to her remain puzzled about what could have led to the attack.

“Ms. Thorne was a good people. It’s a nice people. He never have no kind of enemy. I never saw her with enemies. She was a very friendly person, a very good person, like a family,” Waight said. 

Police have not yet released details on the motive.