An American club owner who lived in San Ignacio is dead tonight-killed on his business premises at the end of a long night's work into the early morning.
42-year-old Jeff Coats was killed in the heart of the town - when he was sprayed with bullets to his head and body.
It was a cruel execution for a man seeking a new life in Belize. Cherisse Halsall travelled west today to find out more about the tragic end of Jeff Coats's life from his common law who witnessed it.
STANDUP
"Replay had been in full swing on Saturday night. And when owner Jeff Coates came down to get his bike he was ready to get home.
But that unfortunately wasn't to be. And it was here at the entrance to his club that Coates, straddling his sports bike, came face to face with two masked gunmen. They opened fire on him hitting him 9 times and left him to die."
His common-law wife saw it happen and this morning still in fear of her life she told us about the ordeal she went through when the masked gunmen came for Jeff:
Voice of: Common-Law-Wife
"I kept back a little and came outside, like maybe three minutes after him to jump on the bike and I closed the door and I just saw I couldn't even see clearly and I just heard gunshots to him and as I turned and looked they shot one at me and I dropped with the impact."
But she wasn't hit. Instead, she pretended to be, and threw herself to the ground, remaining there, motionless until she heard the gunmen leave.
Voice of: Common-Law-Wife
"No it did not hit. It did not hit I didn't see anything I just think the impact I just fell with the impact."
Cherisse Halsall,
"What did it impact, the door?"
Voice of: Common-Law-Wife
"Yeah, I just fell by the door. I couldn't even see how many people it was. I wasn't looking yet I closed the door and I turned and looked and I saw Jeff, he saw me and then it was so fast that I just heard the gunshots at him and they shot at me I couldn't even see because it was so fast. I heard him say something. Maybe like run or maybe don't hurt her or something."
But four months ago when Replay first opened there had been happier times at the club. That's when Jeff recorded this video:
Voice of: Common-Law-Wife
"He was very excited, we both started this project together, it was three of us who started the project together the place didn't look like that we renovated it, painted it and everything."
But that enthusiasm was short lived. "Replay" it seems had become something of a magnet for violent fights. Fights like the one that happened on September 17th which led Matthew Smith's death.
Coates himself ended up covered in blood and admitted to dragging a man out of the club.
And while Coates died waiting for his common law, he had just texted his girlfriend. She says that Jeff was done with the club owner life and that he'd told her he planned to sell his shares in Replay and move back to Belize City.
Voice Of: Girlfriend
"When that happened that he didn't want to be around when that happened because he is putting his life at risk as the owner because he had to be there and handle all of the situations that happen and for that, he told me that for that reason he wanted to you know give up all of that."
But he didn't do so quickly enough - and now it's left to the police to find his killer and the motive
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Officer
"We are receiving cooperation in this investigation and hopefully, we would be able to make an arrest. Yes we have persons detained but that's as far as it goes right now for this investigation."
"We are not ruling out robbery because a black bag that he was carrying was taken away and later found by a citizen who turned it over to the police still containing his cellphone. We have also been informed that he doesn't usually move around with cash on him so like I said we have persons that we are questioning and hopefully after our investigators have spoken to some key suspects, then we will know what was the motive."
Voice of: Common-Law-Wife
"I just want justice for Jeff that is all I want."
