Parolee’s Likely Return to Semi-pro Basketball Reopens Old Wounds

Tonight, we revisit a case that has haunted a family, and a community, for more than a decade. It’s been twelve years since twenty four year old Kayla Burgess was found dead inside her vehicle in Bullet Tree Falls, a brutal killing that left loved ones shaken and searching for answers. Today, the man convicted of her murder is free. Thirty one year old Vince Garbutt, who was sentenced to twenty two years behind bars, walked out on parole in 2025 and is now pursuing a career in basketball. So how did we get here, and how are those closest to Kayla coping all these years later? News Five’s Britney Gordon takes a closer look at the case that stunned the nation, and the lasting impact it continues to have.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The National Elite Basketball League tips off its new season on Friday, and fans across the country are gearing up to pack the stands. But behind the excitement of the opening games, one storyline is already turning heads, and reopening old wounds. Soon, one of the players taking the court could be a name Belizeans remember for a very different reason. Vince “Vinnie” Garbutt, who was sentenced to twenty‑two years for the manslaughter of twenty‑four‑year‑old Kayla Burgess, is now out on parole and trying out for the San Pedro Tiger Sharks. For Garbutt, it’s a shot at rebuilding his life. But for Kayla’s family, his return to the spotlight is a painful reminder of a loss they’re still struggling to heal from. We spoke with her brother, Caral Burgess, who says that even as the world moves on, their grief does not.

 

Caral Burgess, Brother of Deceased

“The process has been hard. You lose somebody very close to the family, which in think in my case, I feel like I lost my princess. I used to call her my princess and the justice system, the guy get twenty-two years. So they explain to you after a certain amount of years he’s eligible to get parole. And besides that, we don’t really follow up on it due to the fact that my mom says in her heart, she has to forgive this guy for her to move on. So mama just said, you know what, we just left it and fit in the hands of God.”

 

When he was arrested, Vince Garbutt was just twenty‑one, a Galen University student and a rising basketball talent in his community. His future on the court came to an abrupt stop the moment he was charged. But even behind bars, Garbutt never fully stepped away from the game. He kept playing while incarcerated, joining the Kolbe Foundation’s basketball team and staying connected to the sport that once defined him.

 

Jaime Gonzalez, Head, CIB, San Ignacio (File: Mar 21, 2014 )

“Based on information that we gathered, we located a fellow Vinnie Garbutt, twenty-one years old and his residence was searched based on the strength of our warrant. Whereby we found certain items of evidential value, so far he is detained in custody.”

 

Caral Burgess says that while the family is trying to heal, closure hasn’t come easy. Now that Garbutt is free, seeing him on the street reignites his pain, but, like his mother, he chooses to take the higher road.

 

Caral Burgess

“We will never get closure, the time weh ih di spend, you’ll never get closure like that. I figure if I do twenty-two years, noh mek ih get no parole after ten or so. Give ah ih years mek ig do ih twnety0two years. I noh believe inna da parole system and how you change you ways and rehabilitate now. You know what I mean? He murder my sister. He murder my sister.”

 

Kayla Burgess’s family says they understand that prison is meant to reform, and even to rehabilitate. But their concern now is public safety. They’re left wondering whether eleven years is enough for a life that was taken.

 

Caral Burgess

“Sometimes the system works, right? What would I hurt? If he can get parole, he can come out and he hurt somebody else family. No, you have to watch if system then you have watch pan it wa two-sided way.. Think seven years that rehabilitation or ten years that rehabilitation for him? No, I don’t think so. If you want give ah twenty-two years, make he rehabilitation after twenty-two years.”

 

We reached out to the San Pedro Tiger Sharks; however, they declined to comment at this time. Britney Gordon f or News Five.

 

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