The Canadian government says a citizen is in police custody in Belize in connection with the deaths of a Toronto woman and her American boyfriend.

Two persons of interest have been detained and are being questioned in relation to the death of Francesca Matus, media reports say.

The deaths of a Canadian woman and her American boyfriend who had been missing for days in Belize are being investigated as homicides after they were found strangled, the local police said Tuesday as the pair's friends and families were struggling to come to grips with their loss.