oh that you whisper ♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, murder in paradise. a couple's tropical getaway in belize takes a horrific turn. found murdered, strangled to death. what happened on that caribbean night? the danger lurking in some trendy destinations. and tips to keep you safe. plus, black enough? a college beauty crowned miss black university of texas. but the after-glow coming to a screeching halt. >> she's clearly the lightest damn near white-looking black woman -- >> fierce backlash over her complexi complexi complexion. why she says blackness is more than skin deep. >> you get away with murder because you look more like them than i do. that's your white skin

privilege. forever in vogue. ♪ "free your mind" with one of the most popular r&b vocal groups of all-time. what to expect from their new summer album. but first the "nightline 5." allergy muddlers, are you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec. it starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it the next day. stick with zyrtec and muddle no more. you get used to food odors. you think it smells fine but your passengers smell this. new febreze car with odor clear technology cleans away odors up to 30 days. >> smells nice. >> breathe happy with new febreze. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening. thanks for joining us. it was a brutal double murder in a luxurious tropical getaway. a couple found strangled in the caribbean, highlighting the dangers of some glamorous destinations. what they don't put in the brochure is that this country has among the highest murder rates in the world. tonight the investigation into their deaths. white sand beaches. turquoise waters. belize is a tropical oasis attracting vacationers and expats from around the globe. but sometimes there's trouble in paradise. it was this postcard-perfect town, corozal, that captivated 52-year-old francesca of canada and her boyfriend drew from the u.s. both owned vacation homes here. >> we think that there's probably about 3,000 pats living in the corazal area. most people are happy here. i enjoy it. >> reporter: this idyllic community is about to be shaken.

the smiling couple vanishing into the caribbean night. thursday evening the couple's last seen at this local bar, celebrating a final night together before each flying home. francesca, to her kids in toronto. and drew, back stateside. the next morning when a friend goes to pick francesca up, something is off. >> the gate was locked. it appeared the home was locked. her car was gone. >> reporter: but she isn't home. drew's motorcycle is out front but he's nowhere to be found. their phones going straight to voice mail. >> i was calling francesca's phone. and i had people who had drew's number calling him. i came back here. went inside. and i seen francesca's suitcase sitting there. >> reporter: inside, luggage, cash, and her passport left behind. fear and suspicion mounting as a desperate search begins. >> she's a person full of life. we're really hoping that we'll find her. >> it's been horrible. it's just been horrible. >> reporter: back in america, drew's family desperate for

answers in the former marine's disappearance. >> we don't know anything. we don't know where he is or what's going on. >> talking with everybody down there, it's a complete mystery. >> reporter: but that mystery was about to take a tragic turn. sunday afternoon, police find francesca's car abandoned in a sugar cane field near the mexican border. next day, ten miles from that field, their bodies are found. face-down, tape tied around their wrists. the cause of death, strangulation. >> knowing he was with her, it just makes me feel better. it wasn't him by himself. and they were together. >> reporter: police now calling this a murder investigation. detaining two people in connection with their deaths. one a canadian national. >> they were residents. this isn't like tourists there for a week or two. they have links into the community. so i'm going to guess this has some tie to their relationship with people who live in belize. >> we have one person that we believe can assist us in our investigation.

>> reporter: this a reminder that behind the tranquil beauty, a more sinister reality. crime and mayhem for this small nation. a population of less than 400,000, yet belize ranks among the top five murder rate in the world. twice that of chicago. far higher than any american city per capita. >> they have a homicide conviction rate between 3% and 10%. a 3% solve rate. that's not optimistic. >> reporter: compare that to the u.s. where more than 60% of murders are solved. >> people let their guard down where they're in an idyllic destination. they think what can happen in paradise? well, a lot of bad things can happen in paradise. some paradises are safer than others. >> reporter: but paradise, beware. in the past two years alone, there have been a number of murders in this caribbean hot spot. indiana native paul seniorino and a friend killed in an attack using a machete and guns. a canadian film producer found stabbed to death. last year, ann sweeney, a

producer at wls. the abc news 7 station in chicago, brutally murdered at this upscale horseback riding resort. >> she felt safe there. we felt safe letting her go alone. >> a very, very outdoor person, loves to ride. that's what she came to do. >> reporter: they were one horse short so ann stayed behind to do yoga as others went riding. when they returned, she was gone. >> did a quick search and she wasn't around. we notified the police. >> reporter: the next day, her body was found in a nearby river. she'd been strangled to death. >> there were bruises around her neck. and on either side of her head, laceration. >> reporter: in chicago her tight-knit newsroom heartbroken. >> everyone was stunned. there were tears in the newsroom. but at that moment, we knew in the investigative unit that we would be going to belize very soon. >> in this part of the world, the most popular places for

americans -- >> reporter: her death prompting her news team, led by chuck goudie, into action. >> this is a few days after ann's murder. we went to the place where ann had been staying and where she ended up being killed. the roads are bad. the people live without very much. so this is walking with the owner down to the river where ann's body was found. the people who were there were incredibly encouraging. wanted the case solved. but the authorities and the people who were involved in the tourism industry i think saw us as somewhat of a threat. putting out the word that there are problems in belize. >> reporter: a year and a half later, the 39-year-old's murder still unsolved. the fbi and the police in belize continue to investigate. swaenny's friends still hopeful for resolution. >> i've covered a lot of murders over the years in chicago, unfortunately. it's a whole different feeling when you're covering the death of somebody that you know. >> reporter: now with summer fast approaching, travel experts

saying, better be safe than sorry. >> if you're going to a place that's iffy security-wise, do your homework. research the crime rates. go in a group. do a group tour. go with a tour operator that has a great reputation. >> reporter: while the state department hasn't issued a travel warning for belize, they do advise signing up for their smart traveler program which helps assist visitors in case of emergency. in corazol, growing concern in the wake of this week's tragedy. >> people feel unsafe. and i think they just have to be more aware of their surroundings. especially at night. when you're out walking about. >> reporter: the fbi now on the ground investigating. and back home, friends and family are still searching for answers. >> i hope for more information and to be able to find out exactly what happened and who did it. that's what i'm hoping for right now. up next, campus controversy.

miss black university of texas responds to criticism that she isn't black enough. and later -- ♪ hold on >> hold on, the ladies of en vogue are on their way. and we meet the fresh face swinging on their new album. ♪ depression is a tangle of multiple symptoms. ♪ that's why there's trintellix, a prescription medication for depression. trintellix may help you take a step forward in improving your depression. tell your healthcare professional right away if your depression worsens, or you have unusual changes in mood, behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens and young adults. do not take with maois. tell your healthcare professional about your medications, including migraine, psychiatric and depression medications, to avoid a potentially life-threatening condition. increased risk of bleeding or bruising may occur, especially if taken with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin or blood thinners. manic episodes or vision problems

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it all started when she won the miss black university of texas beauty pageant. that's the good news. the bad news is, her crowning glory triggered something unexpected -- hurtful twitter comments taking aim at her skin tone for not being black enough.

it's reignited a long-simmering hot-button issue. "nightline" welcomes abc's adrienne bankart. >> college senior rachel mallenson soaking up every last moment of her senior year at university of texas austin. >> i'm so excited, i'm ready to graduate. >> reporter: earlier this week the 22-year-old was crowned miss black ut. >> when they announced my name, the first thing i honestly thought was, wow. >> reporter: but her celebration has been sidelined by controversy. >> one moment i'm on cloud nine. people agreed that i was worthy enough to win the title. the next minute, i'm not black enough, and i don't deserve this. >> reporter: just hours after receiving the crown a vocal group of people took to twitter saying rachel, who is biracial, should not have won. because she isn't black enough. >> one tweet says, she's clearly the lightest damn near white-looking black woman, and she won over others.

quit playing dumb, guys, it looks sketchy. >> reporter: one writing, of course they choose the most white-skinned, least black-looking person there. another saying, they should have pulled out the brown paper bag test. the pageant, in its 35th year, hosted by the historically black fraternity kappa alpha psi. qualification being someone of african-american heritage. the fraternity stands by rachel saying she is completely deserving of the crown. >> i was raised by a mother who's white, who loves me so much, who has helped me become the confident woman i am. i was raised by a black dad who loves me so much he helped raise me. how could i not identify with those sides of them? >> frankly ridiculous. her father is african-american, she's a biracial woman. although you don't first thing, is she black? you don't know what ethnicity but if her father's black, she's black. i think that the issue with rachel's win has been politicized. and rachel represents an issue

of colorism. it's not necessarily her personally, even though she's being personally attacked. >> reporter: the issue of colorism is explored in depth in the new netflix series "dear white people." >> what if i wanted to join them? why do people assume i'm not down? >> dear halfway person, you're just not black enough for the union. >> reporter: we spoke to the show's creator justin simeon about these issues. >> having to prove your blackst is a universal thing among black people. >> wake up to your white privilege, man. >> uh, i'm black. >> you don't want to feel like you're participating in this system where the light her you are, the better you are. some people do want to participate in that system and want to take advantage of it, but it really does create this kind of identity crisis of the soul. and it's a tricky thing to navigate. >> reporter: biracial student sam and her darker-complexioned friend coco are shown confronting different experiences as black women. >> imagine the reaction if your

divisive, revolutionary drivel were coming from the mouth of a real sister. >> a real sister? >> you get away with murder because you look more like them than i do. that's your white skin privilege. >> as a biracial woman, she sort of feels as if she's kind of caught between two worlds and feels as if she kind of has to double down on as pecks of her blackness to feel as if she belongs around black people, frankly. and these are the kind of things that she sort of keeps in private but they sort of come up in kind of dramatic ways in the series. >> y'all sound ridiculous. i do not have a preference for light-skinned people. >> reporter: a recent episode of abc's "black-ish" explores the complexity of skin tone. >> i wouldn't know they were black. >> guten free. >> yeah. >> that's milky right there. >> reporter: coworkers accusing him of preferential casting. >> beige rage. >> i do not. >> what that is? >> means he has a clear preference of light skin over dark skin. i've always seen it.

and it's always hurt. >> reporter: growing up multi-ethnic, rachel says her identity began being questioned from an early age. >> i remember at 9 years old, people were like, are you his pan nick they asked me that so much i thought i was lying when i said no, i'm black and white, that's how i identify. but today i realize that it's not this awful thing, i actually am blessed to be able to be an example of that. those stereotypes are not true. black women, biracial women, come in all different shades, different hair textures. we all identify but we all look different. i'm so thankful that i'm able to be a walking example. >> reporter: she says at times it was hard to know where she fit in. >> i wouldn't say that i've felt a certain privilege for being white. because i feel there comes a greater confusion for me. >> we live in a society where the lighter you are, the more closer you are to the standards of beauty. european standards of beauty.

the better you are in society. so there's this resentment within the community of like, oh, you think you're too good. but the truth is these people are kind of caught in between a rock and a hard place. you're sort of like playing this line in the middle. >> reporter: in hollywood there's been a demand for inclusion. many arguing light-skinned women continue to be shown as the beauty standard. from red carpets to magazine covers. some publications have come under fire for allegedly lightening celebrities with d k darker skin tones. something that media companies have denied. on the big screen, the recent bio-pic "nina" came under fire for casting lighter-skinned zoe saldana to play a darker-skinned nina simone. >> until recently a woman who was of darker skin was relegated to a ma'ammy role, a best friend role. she wasn't the center. she wasn't the love interest. we're just now getting to the point where women like lupita and viola are getting center stage. >> reporter: for rachel, despite

the controversy, she hopes she can be a role model to young women in every shade. >> a lot of people who know me, those who don't know me, started having my back and really truly supporting me and telling me that i deserve that title. it's turned into a beautiful thing that's reminding me that i have the ability to impact people in a positive way. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm adrienne bankart in new york. up next, don't let go, super group en vogue is back. will their new album stay true to their signature sound?

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you know, if it were up to me, en vogue would have been in vogue for nearly three decades. and this summer they're back. in action. here's abc's mara schiavocompo. ♪ hold on to your love ♪ you got to hold on >> reporter: they had a hold on the music charts in the '90s.

the iconic en vogue. ♪ never gonna get it ♪ never gonna get it >> reporter: updating the glamor of girl groups with songs like "my loving" and "free your mind." ♪ free your mind and the rest will follow ♪ >> reporter: paving the way for groups like the spice girls, destiny's child, fifth harmony. you've had more than 20 million album sales which is just amazing. what is the secret to such longevity and success? >> it is just loving what we do. we really enjoy performing. we enjoy writing and creating new music. as long as our fans want to come out and have a good time and hear our music, we're willing to come out there and meet them. >> reporter: these days the group looks a little different. original members cindy and terri are joined by rona bennett for a new album due this summer titled "electric cafe." what can fans expect from this new en vogue? >> they can expect the signature en vogue harmonies.

it's eclectic, the evolution of en vogue, but still that signature sound. >> reporter: a new tour launches next week. >> there's this sort of a resurgence of '90s music, people want to come and hear it. we're just going to have a good time with our fans and enjoy ourselves. >> reporter: bringing the funky divas back into the lives of fans who don't want t ♪ don't want to let go >> reporter: fans like me. ♪ never gonna get it never gonna get it ♪ ♪ never gonna get it never gonna get it whoo whoo ♪ ♪ never gonna get it never done that get it ♪ ♪ never gonna get it never gonna get it never get it ♪ >> reporter: for "nightline," mara schiavocompo in new york. >> i'm pretty sure she got the it. that was awesome. thank you for watching abc news. as always, we're online at abcnews.com. and our "nightline" facebook page. good night, america.

have a great weekend.

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