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Suicide or Homicide?

Chayben Bou-Nahra - he was known as he was notorious, and tonight his death is a most confounding mystery. Bou-Nahra was shot to the head on Sunday morning in Cayo and died 4 hours later at the KHMH. The question is, was he killed or did he shoot himself? - and even if he did [shoot himself] was it accidental, or suicidal? There are many plots and possibilities that have been put out there, all based on the central belief that Ben Bou-Nahra would not kill himself. But police say otherwise, they say all the evidence suggests that, indeed, he may have taken his own life.
Jacqueline Godwin went to Cayo today and she found that a night that ended in tragedy started out happily enough at a staff party for Belize Natural Energy employees. Bou-Nahra was there with his girlfriend who worked with the oil company. Here's where things went wrong.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
It all happened after 3:00 a.m. on Sunday inside the San Ignacio Resort Hotel where 34-year-old Chayben Bou-Nahra was staying with his girlfriend, 22-year-old Evita Bedran, a resident of Central Farm in the Cayo District. The couple had just retired to their room when the sound of a single gunshot rang out. It is still not certain what transpired inside room 101, but initial reports are that the girlfriend was in the bathroom when the boyfriend shot himself in the head.

Officer in Charge of Cayo Police Formation Sr. Supt. Paul Wade says when the police arrived on the scene Chayben Bou-Nahra was lying face up on the bed in an unconscious state. He was bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the head. Bou-Nahra was first transported to the San Ignacio Hospital and then onto the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he died some 4 hours later.

Sr. Supt Paul Wade, OIC - Cayo Police Formation
"At the scene the police recovered one 9-milimeter pistol with 12 live rounds of ammunition. The police also recovered one expended 9-mm shell from the scene."

Police say only his girlfriend may have answers as to why Chayben Bou-Nahra is dead.

Sr. Supt Paul Wade,
"The only witness is Ms. Bedran. She is currently being questioned in relation to what might have taken place. On arrival at the scene the police was told by Ms. Bedran that Mr. Bou-Nahra shot himself because he was upset. That is as far as I know at this point in time. The scene has been processed, swabs were taken from both Mr. Bou-Nahra and Ms. Bedran for testing.

That is the only comment because she was in a state of shock and we did not talk to her properly at that time. That is being done today in Belize City, because she has also been admitted in the hospital in Belize City. But she only uttered that to the police when they arrived. That's all I can say at this time.

There is no sign of any struggle in the room and as I said there is no indication that anyone else other than Mr. Bou-Nahra and his friend was present in the room."

Upon returning to their hotel room the couple reportedly got into a misunderstanding because earlier that night Chayben Bou-Nahra was involved in two altercations.

Sr. Supt Paul Wade,
"We have interviewed some witnesses which confirm Mr. Bou-Nahra was involved in an altercation; first one at the Benque Rock disco in Benque Viejo sometime before this incident occurred, and another incident in the parking lot of the San Ignacio Hotel."

In the altercation at the Benque Rock Night Club, Bou-Nahra was reportedly struck in the middle of his head. Bedran and Bou-Nahra had returned to the San Ignacio Resort Hotel so he could change his shirt. It is then reported that he got into another fight in the parking lot. He reportedly pointed his 9-millimetre pistol at Richard Acosta. B.N.E. employee Richard Arnold intervened, but Bou-Nahra allegedly pistol whipped him on the forehead. Arnold received several stitches and police say more than likely Bou-Nahra would have been charged for aggravated assault.

Sr. Supt Paul Wade,
"Basically they were alleging that Mr. Bou-Nahra assaulted them with the weapon, with a weapon. So they were at the station making a report against Mr. Bou-Nahra at the time when the shooting occurred at the San Ignacio Hotel."

Police say that so far all evidence on hand strongly suggests that Bou-Nahra took his own life - either intentionally or accidentally, but they cannot rule out the possibility of a homicide until the result of a post mortem which is scheduled for Tuesday. Jacqueline Godwin reporting for 7NEWS.

And so while police believe Bou-Nahra shot himself, his family and friends strongly dispute that. Though they declined to comment on camera, the family issued a statement this evening. It says, quote: "the family wishes to state for the record certain facts in response to allegations circulating in the media: 1. No post mortem has yet been conducted and as such, no definite cause of death can be concluded as at today's date by anyone. 2. The family wishes to observe the initial post mortem and as such, has retained the services of a forensic expert on standby as the family representative at the relevant time. While this has been known to happen in the past, it is not being allowed in the present instance."

And that's it from the family; the release says this is the formal and only version of what the family has to say at this time. And it raises a few points: police say they had nothing to do with the decision not to allow oversight from any forensic expert. They say it is the decision of the Forensic Pathologist Mario Estradabran. Estradabran today told us he had no comment. Another point we note is that the family's release speaks about an initial post mortem which tells us that they plan to do their own after Estradabran's one. But still, a great deal hinges on that Estradabran post mortem which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. We'll have the result for you in tomorrow night's news.

Channel 7

We continue tonight's newscast with the strange death of Ben Bou-Nahra, a 34-year-old businessman who has had his own share of run-ins with the law. Bou-Nahra died from a single gunshot to his head early Sunday morning at the K.H.M.H. It follows 2 scuffles earlier in the night, one in Benque Viejo del Carmen and another at the parking lot of the San Ignacio Hotel, where he was shot. Marion Ali was in San Ignacio today and has a report.

Marion Ali, Reporting
His name was the topic of controversy for several days after his murder trial went up in smoke for the shooting death of Shawn Copious on his King's Park property on September 17th, 2006. Now Ben Bou-Nahra is dead, the victim of a gunshot wound that penetrated both sides of his head. The incident occurred early on Sunday morning at the popular San Ignacio Hotel, which is owned by the family of Bou-Nahra's girlfriend, Evita Bedran. Officer Commanding the San Ignacio Police Station, Senior Superintendent Paul Wade, explained to the media that they found Bou-Nahra lying on the bed inside the hotel room.

Sr. Supt. Paul Wade, O.C., Cayo District
"On Sunday the 21st at around 3:45 a.m., the police responded to a shooting incident at room 101 in the San Ignacio Hotel here in Cayo. Upon arrival, the police saw one Chayben Bou-Nahra, a businessman of Belize City, lying down with what appears to be a gunshot wound to the head. Mr. Bou-Nahra, at the time, was accompanied by a female friend, one Ms. Evita Bedran of the Central Farm area of the Cayo District. Mr. Bou-Nahra was in an unconscious state."

Bou-Nahra was first taken to the San Ignacio Hospital, then to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he succumbed around 7:00 on Sunday morning. But while the post mortem results will not be out for another day, the details police have provided to the media suggest it may be a case of suicide.

Sr. Supt. Paul Wade
"At the scene the police recovered one 9- mm pistol with 12 live rounds of ammunition. Police also recovered one expended 9- mm shell from the scene. The only witness is Ms. Bedran. She is currently being questioned in relation to what might have taken place. On arrival at the scene the police was told by Ms. Bedran that Mr. Bou-Nahra shot himself because he was upset."

But police forensics experts have taken swab samples from both Bou-Nahra and Bedran to confirm her statement. Bedran herself has been treated at a hospital in Belize City for trauma following the incident. And that incident might have been provoked by 2 altercations in which Bou-Nahra was embroiled just prior to the shooting; one at a discotheque a few miles away and the second right just outside the hotel he was staying. Apparently, after the first fight Bou-Nahra returned to his hotel room to change his shirt. On his way back out, he got involved in the second scuffle with Richard Acosta and Richard Arnold who intervened.

Sr. Supt. Paul Wade
"We have interviewed some witnesses which confirm that Mr. Bou-Nahra was involved in an altercation. First one at the Benque Rock Disco in Benque Viejo sometime before this incident occurred and another incident in the parking lot of the San Ignacio Hotel as well where he might have injured someone and he himself had got an injury to his head. That is what we have been able to confirm through witnesses. And the people who had allegedly done that were also making a report at the station in Cayo when the alleged shooting occurred in the room, so they were at the station making a report against Mr. Bou-Nahra at the time when the shooting occurred in the San Ignacio Hotel. Basically, they were alleging that Mr. Bou-Nahra assaulted them with the weapon."

Police say that it was after the second fight that an irate Bou-Nahra returned to his room with his girlfriend. They have gathered that she was in the bathroom when Bou-Nahra allegedly pulled the trigger on himself. The post mortem is set for 12:30 Tuesday afternoon. Marion Ali for News Five.

Bou-Nahra was acquitted of the murder of Shawn Copious on October 24th, 2007 after 3 police officers who responded to the scene of that shooting could not positively identify him in court.

This evening the attorney for the Bou-Nahra family, Emil Arguelles, issued a statement on the family's behalf. The Bou-Nahra family expresses disappointment that their request to have an independent pathologist present for the post mortem has been denied. However, Arguelles told News Five this evening that the expert will be on stand-by if the family requires a second opinion of Ben Bou-Nahra's death.

Channel 5

Police Report:
On Sunday, December 21, sometime around 3:45am, San Ignacio Police acted on information received and visited the San Ignacio Hotel, where on arrival they observed a male person lying on a bed face up, bleeding from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. Beside him was a chrome and black 9mm pistol. The man was identified as Chayben Bounahra, 34, of Corner of Leslie Waight and Main Avenue, Kings Park Area, Belize City.

Initial investigation reveals that Buonahra and a female companion (Avita Bedran) were attending a BNE function held at the hotel; and thereafter, went to the Benque Rock night club in Benque. At the night club, investigation revealed that he got involved in an altercation where he sustained an injury in the middle of his head; went back to the hotel to change his shirt, then went to the parking lot where he got involved in an altercation with Richard Acosta then pointed a pistol at him. Richard Arnold intervened to quell the situation but was pistol whipped to the head. Bounahra went back to his room where apparently he and his fianc got into a misunderstanding. She then went to use the bathroom and whilst in the bathroom, shortly after, she heard a single gun shot. When she came out of bathroom she noticed that Bounahra had shot himself.

The scene was visited and processed by police and they retrieved (1) 9MM pistol, (1) magazine containing 12 live rounds and a small quantity of suspected cannabis. Bohnahra was transported to the San Ignacio Town Hospital and thereafter to the KHMH and at 7:00am on 21/12/08 he passed away. Presently, Avita Bedran is admitted at the Belize Medical Associates due the incident. The investigation continues.

Cayo Police say they suspect that Cheyben "Ben" Bou Nehra, businessman playboy of Mirab's Superstore, shot and killed himself last Sunday morning, December 21, in his hotel room at the San Ignacio Hotel.

Thirty-four year old Bou-Nahra is survived by his brother, Mike Bou-Nahra, principal owner of Mirab's Superstore. and his mother Miriam Bou-Nahra.

Bou-Nahra was pronounced dead around 6:45 A.M. at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City.

Reports say police and hotel personnel found Bou-Nahra lying on the bed in his hotel room 101 with a gunshot wound to his right temple. His 9 mm pistol lay near his body, loaded with 12 rounds except for the single expended shell. Police have recovered the casing and the led slug which came out through his forehead.

Police and the hotel security guards who rushed to the room when they heard the gunfire found Bou-Nahra in a state of unconsciousness.

His girlfriend, Avita Bedran. was trying to revive him.

The police rushed him first to the Loma Luz Hospital and then to the KHMH where Bou-Nahra was pronounced dead.

Avita Bedran was taken to the Medical Associates Hospital on St Thomas Street in Belize City where she was admitted to ward suffering from shock. Bou-Nahra's body was transferred to the morgue.

Avita Bedran told police that Bou-Nahra shot himself because he was displeased with her.

She said they were having a dispute in their hotel room and she went off to the bathroom. While in the bathroom she heard an explosion and found him laying on the bed with blood coming from his head.
Reports indicate that Bou-Nahra and Avita had attended a BNE Christmas Party at the San Ignacio Hotel earlier that night.

They left the party and went to the Rock Disco in Benque Viejo. In Benque Bou-Nahra became involved in a fight at the disco where two men held him and beat him. One of the men hit him over the head with a bottle.

Bou-Nahra and Avita left the Benque Rock Disco to return to the San Ignacio Hotel for a change of shirt.

On emerging from the hotel Bou-Nahra saw two men talking near his SUV in the hotel parking lot and straightaway concluded that they were trying to break in.

He approached the two men and accused them of trying to break into his car.

Richard Acosta and Richard Arnold told police that they were talking near a vehicle when Bou-Nahra stormed up and began to insult them. A violent argument followed Bou-Nahra's outburst.

In the violence that followed Bou-Nahra took out a pistol and pointed it at Richard Acosta. When Arnold tried to intervene Bou Nahra pistol-whipped him over the head, causing him to bleed.

At this point Avita Bedran, his girlfriend, became angry and scolded Bou-Nahra and the two went arguing into the hotel.

Back in their hotel room, Bedran told police. She was still angry with Bou-Nahra when she went to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom, she heard a single gun shot and came running out. She saw Bou-Nahra laying on the bed, bleeding profusely from his head.

Superintendent Paul Wade, San Ignacio Police Chief, said that Acosta and Arnold were at the Police Station giving their statement when the news was received that Bou-Nahra had shot himself.

Wade said the case was treated like all other homicide cases where a person has been shot. There was a through investigation. The scene was processed with meticulous care and the clothing submitted for gunshot residue. Hand swabs were obtained from both Miss Bedran and Bou-Nahra for the presence of carbon residue.

Indications are pointing to a clear case of suicide, and the Cayo police may conclude that Bou-Nahra shot himself.

Police say the bullet entered from the side of the head at the temple, and this is consistent with a suicide prognosis.

There appears to be some divergence in what the police are reporting and friends of Bou-Nahra who say that he was shot from behind the head.

They point out moreover that Bou-Nahra loved life, and liked to party, and was not likely to take his own life under any circumstances.

Friends of Bou-Nahra also say that he was a very pleasant person as long as he remained sober. Once he begins to drink he becomes bellicose and violent.

A post mortem was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon on Bou-Nahra's body. In 2005 Bou-Nahra shot and killed Shawn Copious, after Copius entered Bou Nahra's yard.

However the prosecution's case fell apart in the Supreme Court, when the three arresting police officers could not remember Bou-Nahra's face and were not able to identify him as the person they arrested.

Bou-Nahra walked away free, but the three policemen have since been dismissed from the department and two are facing perjury charges in the Supreme Court.

If found guilty they could be sent to prison for five to seven years.

Funeral services for Ben Bou-Nahra have been set tentatively for Saturday, December 27 in Belize City.

The Reporter

Post mortem confirms Bou-Nahra death to be suicide
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His death was as questionable as the life he led and the post mortem on the body of 34-year-old businessman Chayben Bou-Nahra certifies - at least for the most part, that he committed suicide when he shot himself in a hotel room in San Ignacio. That was the finding today by police pathologist Doctor Mario Estradabran who, after spending almost 2 hours conducting the autopsy, said he believed Bou-Nahra pulled the trigger that dealt the fatal blow to his head.

Dr. Mario Estradabran, Police Pathologist
"He basically has three injuries, two of them are characterized by firearms, I mean gunshots. He has an entry wound to the left side of the head and he has an exit wound to the right side of the head. It has more patterns of a suicidal wound than of an accidental or homicidal wound."

"The swab samples were taken by the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital a few hours after the incident happened. So we are not really going to rely on the swab samples results because of the time being passed and taken in the hospital immediately after they start to do medical attention to the victim."

Jacqueline Godwin, Channel 7
"He took his own life?"

Dr. Mario Estradabran
"In a high percentage, but just remember that we still have to await some forensic laboratory results in relation to the swabbings that we took during the post mortem examination and the blood sample as well as hair samples and other samples ."

But while Estradabran is ruling Bou-Nahra's death as suicide, he refused to allow the family's independent pathologist to observe the procedure. The family reacted in a statement on Monday evening through their attorney, Emil Arguelles. Estradabran explained why he did not allow the other expert to witness the autopsy.

Dr. Mario Estradabran
"I personally declined the request because we have our own law, our own forensic medical protocols that we have to follow. If I am in this position over 20 years, that means that the government has the full confidence in me. I have been working with two governments, the past and the present government and I know I have been in controversies a lot of times, but we come out of those controversies with clean responsibility of the events."

Marion Ali
"Allowing another pathologist to observe has never been done before?"

Dr. Mario Estradabran
"Yes, it has been done before but just through the British violent deaths, specifically soldiers. You know we are living in a Commonwealth country so we do not really have any objection to make British pathologists come to do their own investigation and they did it with me and we come out with the same opinion."

"My responsibility as a forensic medical officer of the country is to do the first examination, then if the family is not completely satisfied, they are free once again to get a second or third medical opinion. But let me tell you something, I was talking by telephone with one of the Bou-Nahra family this morning and they give me their full support today to go through with the post mortem examination. They trust me, they just wanted somebody else be present during the post mortem examination and that's why I allowed Mr. Freddy Acosta to be present during the post mortem examination. He's a good friend of the family, specifically the deceased family."

Bou-Nahra died from a bullet wound that penetrated both sides of his head on Sunday morning shortly after he and his girlfriend, Evita Bedran, went inside their hotel room at the San Ignacio Resort. The shooting followed confrontations in which Bou-Nahra was involved in at the Benque Rock Café and then another in the hotel's parking lot. Bedran told police that she was in the bathroom after she and Bou-Nahra had a misunderstanding and that was when she heard the gunshot. When we checked with Emil Arguelles, the attorney for the Bou-Nahra family late this evening, he said he had no comment on whether the family would indeed seek a second opinion.

Channel 5