By Belize Live News Staff: A family in Santa Elena, Cayo, is grieving and demanding answers after a young pregnant woman was shot and killed in broad daylight in Hattieville on Saturday, a killing that also claimed the life of her unborn child.
Twenty-three-year-old Jane Urbina had recently celebrated her birthday and was eagerly counting down the weeks to the birth of her first baby. Instead, her life and her baby’s were cut short when a gunman opened fire on her as she waited for a bus to take her home. She died from her injuries, and her unborn child did not survive.
Those who knew her describe a warm and happy young woman who was devoted to her family. Relatives say she was especially close to her mother and was always there to help care for her. The thought that she is gone, along with the baby she was so excited to meet, has left the family heartbroken. “Jane was a loving girl, always happy and smiling,” a relative said through tears. “She told me, I can’t wait to meet my baby.”
Now the family is pleading for justice, saying they cannot bear for this case to go unanswered. They are also calling for a greater sense of safety in their community, urging police to do more to protect residents and to follow through on this investigation.
Police have said they believe the attack was targeted and are searching for two suspects believed to be from Belize City. Investigators say they are pursuing their lines of inquiry, but that a motive has not yet been confirmed. Authorities are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
As funeral arrangements are made, a family that has known heartbreak before now faces the unimaginable task of burying both a mother and her unborn child.
