In life he was seen as a controversial figure who thumbed his nose at the country’s judicial system. Now he is dead. But even in death, controversy still surrounds him. The final controversy this time is how exactly he had died. Sometime around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, December 21, San Ignacio police received a report of a shooting that occurred in room 101 at the San Ignacio Hotel, where Ben Abou-Nehra, 34, was staying with his fiancée, Evita Bedran, 22.
At the same time the call concerning the shooting came into the police station, officers were taking a statement from two men, one of whom had been pistol whipped a few minutes before by the said Ben Abou-Nehra. The stunning information to the San Ignacio Police was that the man who was being reported against had been shot in the head and lay mortally wounded in his hotel room.
Later police investigations revealed that Ben Abou-Nehra had earlier that night been involved in an altercation at a disco in Benque Viejo named “Benque Rock.” The wealthy, young businessman was along with his equally wealthy fiancée, Evita Bedran, a granddaughter of Cayo’s Escander Bedran, (deceased) whose family has built an extensive business empire in the Cayo District and who are the owners of the flagship, San Ignacio Hotel.
Senior Superintendent of Police Paul Wade told Amandala that his investigation revealed that shortly after the couple returned to san Ignacio from Benque, Abou-Nehra went to their hotel room to change his shirt. It must have had blood stains on it, because he had sustained an injury to his head.
Shortly after he emerged from his hotel room, he got into another altercation. This time it was with one of the hotel’s security guards, Richard Acosta. Another man who was with Acosta at the time, Richard Arnold, tried to quell the situation. But Abou-Nehra pointed his pistol at Acosta. He cocked the gun, but did not fire it. Instead he hit Arnold on the left side of his head, “bursting” it. The laceration in Arnold’s head required four stitches.
When Abou-Nehra went back to his room, Acosta and Arnold made their way down the hill to the police station to file a report against him.
When police responded to the call about the shooting from the San Ignacio Hotel, they found Abou-Nehra lying on his back with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to his head.
His fiancée was the only other person inside the room when police and the hotel security entered. Ms. Bedran’s only remark to them was, “He shot himself, because he was upset with me.”
The victim was first rushed to Loma Luz Hospital in San Ignacio. Shortly afterwards he was transported by ambulance to Belize City’s Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH). Abou-Nehra died around 7:00 a.m. while undergoing treatment at the KHMH.
A police crime scene crew recovered a (1) 9mm pistol with serial number GTD464. The gun had 12 live rounds inside the magazine. The police also recovered one expended 9mm shell and one spent slug. Police say that they recovered 8 grams of suspected marijuana from Abou-Nehra’s possession.
Traumatized by the deadly event, Ms. Bedran had to be rushed to the Medical Associates hospital in Belize City. According to Superintendent Wade, because this is an open investigation, Ms. Bedran is a person of interest to police investigators. “She is a person of interest because she is a key witness.” In addition, Wade said that swab samples were taken from Abou-Nehra and Ms. Bedran.
Abou-Nehra came to public attention when he was accused of the shooting death of Shawn Copius in the early morning of September 17, 2005. Copius, 23, was shot and killed as he tried to flee Abou-Nehra’s yard.
The then Director of Public Prosecutions, Kirk Anderson, after reviewing the case file, directed the Commissioner of Police to arrest and charge Abou-Nehra for the crime of murder. He was charged with murder initially and then the charge was downgraded to manslaughter. What happened was that the DPP and the Commissioner of Police became involved in a stalemate that found them sending case files back and forth between the two offices.
Abou-Nehra was eventually tried for the lesser crime of manslaughter. But the case fell apart and the DPP office had to issue a nolle prosequi after three police officers developed collective amnesia and refused to testify in the trial which ended on July 24, 2007.
The three officers in question—Inspector Clement Cacho, Constable Darius Ramos and Sergeant Anthony Polonio—all dealt with Abou-Nehra on the morning of the shooting, but claimed that they could not identify him in court, torpedoing the DPP’s chance for a conviction.
The three offices were later found guilty of an act to the prejudice of good order and discipline against the Police Department.
Earlier this year, Ben Abou-Nehra was involved in a major brawl at the Barry Bowen-owned Riverside Tavern located in the old Belize Estate Company yard, at the corner of North Front and Mapp Streets overlooking the Haulover Creek. Two brothers, Myron and Luigi Marin, were beaten and hospitalized. There were bullets flying around that night as the New Year was just dawning.
Late this evening Channel 7 News reported that the family of Ben Abou-Nehra issued a statement indicating that they wanted to have their own forensic pathologist observe the autopsy which is scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, at the KHMH morgue. The autopsy is to be performed by government pathologist, Dr. Mario Estrabran. But according to Abou-Nehra’s family, their request has been turned down. The family is not accepting the speculation that Ben Abou-Nehra committed suicide. According to Channel 7, Estradabran has refused comment on his refusal of the family request.