“I have no doubts that thirty four year old businessman Chayben Bounahra committed suicide.” That’s what Chief Pathologist Dr. Mario Estradabran had to say after he finished Bou-Nahra autopsy today. Following the examination that took just over two hours to complete Dr. Estradabran spoke to the media. According to Dr. Estradabran while they are still awaiting the results of some swab samples, based on the examination of the body he strongly believes that Chayben Bounahra killed himself. Here’s his explanation.
Jacqueline Godwin,
You’re saying there is a high possibility based on your post mortem that Chayben Bounahra committed suicide, yet you say you are awaiting samples to definitively say that he committed suicide?
Dr. Mario Estradabran, Police Pathologist
“That’s correct.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So it is inconclusive?
Dr. Mario Estradabran,
“It is inconclusive but it is more conclusive in relation to suicide. He basically has three injuries: two of them are characterized by firearm, 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.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Is this characteristic of somebody who would take their own life, an accidental shooting or homicide?
Dr. Mario Estradabran,
“It is very characteristic of, it is a very high possibility, scientifically, it is more, it has more patterns of a suicidal wound than accidental or homicidal wound.
Let me tell you something that the swab samples were never taken at the scene. The swab samples were taken by the KHMH a few hours after the incident happened so we are not really going to rely on the swab samples for results because of the time being passed and taken in the hospital immediately after they started to do medical attention to the victim.
We know scientifically that the entry is on the left because of the inward bevelling, inward bevelling meaning the type of entry orifices, the patterns that the bullet produced entering the skull cavity and that is basically characterized by an entry wound to the left side.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Because the family I know is saying that because he was left handed this could not have been possible, Chayben Bounahra taking his own life.
Dr. Mario Estradabran,
“I don’t fully agree with that. I am of different opinion because we already had proof and once and for all we have to finish the speculations about what is happening. That is why we did a post mortem examination and the entry wound is to the left side and is consistent with a left handed person.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
We know the Bounahra family sent out a statement saying that for the very first time, while they wanted a representative of the family to be present during the post mortem, their request was declined. Do you know why you declined this request?
Dr. Mario Estradabran,
“Okay I personally declined the request because we have our own law, our own forensic medical protocols that we have to follow and if I am in this position for over 20 years, that means 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 time, we have come out of those controversies with clean responsibility of the events.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So your final result is that it was consistent with suicide, he took his own life?
Dr. Mario Estradabran,
“In a high percentage but just remember we still have to wait for some forensic laboratory results in relation to the swabs that we took during the post mortem examination and the blood samples as well as the last hair samples and other samples.
After the post mortem is finished, I have to issue a death certificate and when I issue a death certificate then my responsibility of the forensic investigation finishes. So when I am giving the family the death certificate through the police, the family is free to do whatever they want to do with the body. So if they want to get a second or a third opinion after my post mortem examination, the family they are free to do that but our responsibility as a forensic medical officer of the country is to do the first examination and then if the family is not completely satisfied, they are free once again to go and get a second and third medical opinion.
But let me tell you something, I was talking through telephone with one of the Bounahra family and they gave me their full support to go through the examination. They trust me, they just wanted somebody else to be present during the post mortem examination and that is why I allowed Mr. Freddy Acosta to be present during the post mortem examination. He is a good friend of the family.”
Of course, Dr. Estradabran’s conclusion differs sharply with the opinion of Bounahra’s friends, who tell us they are convinced he was killed; they point to a conspiracy of some sort. It is unclear whether that is just a hunch borne out of incredulity or a theory with compelling evidence to back it up. We do know that the family has retained its own foreign forensic specialist and he has been looking at pictures of the crime scene and we are told has visited the crime scene himself. The family had requested that he witness the post mortem, but that request was denied.
As we’ve reported, Bounahra was shot to the head at the San Ignacio Hotel on Saturday morning between three and four. That came after a night that started simply enough when he accompanied his girlfriend Evita Bedran to a staff party for her employer, Belize Natural Energy. Sometime later that night, he got into two separate altercations. One at the Benque Rock Club when he was hit in the head and the other in the hotel’s parking lot in which he injured BNE employee Richard Arnold. Richard Arnold had intervened when Chayben Bounahra and one Richard Acosta got into an altercation. As a result, Bounahra pistol whipped him with in the forehead.
Investigations reveal that after the couple retired to their hotel room early Sunday morning the couple had a misunderstanding. Evita Bedran reportedly went to the bathroom when she heard a single gunshot. When police arrived on the scene she told them that Bounahra had shot himself in the head. And while the question of who killed Ben Bounahra is the most asked in Belize right now, his funeral has been set for Friday, December 26th.
