Krismar Espinosa found guilty of executing Wilbert Banks Jr. in jealousy-fuelled execution

By Breaking Belize News Staff: Thirty-six-year-old Krismar Espinosa was found guilty on Friday afternoon of the April 2024 murder of bicycle technician and cycling enthusiast Wilbert E. Banks Jr., who was shot seven times after being lured to the Lake Garden area of Ladyville by a woman at the center of the feud.

Justice Nigel Pilgrim delivered the verdict shortly after 1 p.m. in a courtroom filled with relatives of both men. The decision brought an emotional moment for Banks’ family, who had waited more than two years for the case to be concluded.

After reviewing the evidence, Justice Pilgrim said the court was satisfied that Espinosa shot and killed Banks without legal justification in what he described as an execution-style killing. The judge rejected Espinosa’s defence as untrue and found the prosecution’s main witness—Espinosa’s former girlfriend and Banks’ former partner—to be truthful, credible and reliable.

The woman testified by video link that Espinosa became jealous after finding a photograph of Banks and accused her of continuing a relationship with him. She said Espinosa threatened to kill her and her son unless she helped lure Banks to Lake Garden Road.

According to her testimony, Espinosa borrowed his employer’s vehicle and dropped her off in Belize City. Banks later encountered her and offered to drive her back to Ladyville. When they reached Lake Garden, she exited Banks’ vehicle and Espinosa emerged and opened fire from the passenger side.

Banks attempted to escape but was struck by additional gunfire, lost control of his vehicle and crashed. The witness said she ran from the scene, but Espinosa chased her, forced her into his vehicle and threatened her against speaking about the killing.

Police recovered her cellphone near the murder scene, leading investigators to the Lords Bank home where she and Espinosa were found. Officers had also recovered nine expended 9mm shells at the scene. Public reporting at the time stated that Banks was found mortally wounded inside his crashed vehicle shortly after 11:30 p.m. on April 5, 2024.

Justice Pilgrim acknowledged that the woman’s evidence had to be treated cautiously because she had participated in luring Banks to the location. However, he concluded that she acted under threats of violence and that her account was strongly supported by the gunshot damage to Banks’ vehicle, the medical evidence and the physical evidence recovered by police.

The court also questioned Espinosa’s credibility, particularly the conflicting explanations he gave for borrowing his employer’s vehicle. Espinosa claimed he had taken the vehicle to run an errand, later said he went to purchase food and also alleged that the vehicle ran out of fuel. The judge found that those explanations did not correspond with his employer’s testimony.

Espinosa had denied the allegations, claiming he was home between approximately 8:50 and 11 p.m. on the night of the murder and that the case against him had been fabricated.

Banks, 38, worked for several years at Ordonez Bike Shop and was well known within Belize’s cycling community. Friends and relatives publicly remembered him as a quiet, humble and helpful man who was passionate about bicycles and cycling.

Crown Counsels Maria Santana-Nembhard and Joseph Perez prosecuted the case, while Espinosa was represented by attorney Michael Peyrefitte.

Sentencing has been scheduled for September 7, 2026. Justice Pilgrim ordered the preparation of a Social Inquiry Report, a prison report and a Victim Impact Statement ahead of the sentencing hearing.

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