Canadian Tourist Bouabal Bounthavorn Shot to Death in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

A 29 year old Canadian tourist, Bouabal Bounthavorn, was shot an killed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. According to police reports, Bounthavorn was shot three times in the head by a lone gunman in the Hotel Riu in Cabo San Lucas. 24 year old Masha Heikali, Bounthavorn’s girlfriend, was shot in the foot.  Mexican police say that no one has been arrested so far and investigators have no leads.

Hotel Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas

Canadian tourist gunned down in Mexico: report

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade confirmed that a Canadian had died.

“We’re aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in Cabo San Lucas,” department spokeswoman Marie-Christine Lilkoff told Canwest News Service.

“Consular assistance is being provided to the family and consular staff are in touch with local authorities, who are conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the death.”

This is certainly not the first case of a Canadian being killed in Mexico as there have been a number of high profile cases in recent years.

• Domenic and Nancy Ianiero of Woodbridge, Ont. were found murdered at a resort near Playa del Carmen, Mexico in February 2006. No arrests were ever made, but at one point, Mexican authorities considered two women from Thunder Bay, Ont. to be suspects.
• Another Woodbridge resident, 19-year-old Adam DePrisco, died outside an Acapulco nightclub in January 2007. A Mexican doctor said the teen died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver, but DePrisco’s family maintained he was beaten to death.
• Jeff Toews of Grande Prairie, Alta. died in May 2007 in Cancun after partying in a nightclub. Mexican authorities say he fell from the second floor of his hotel. Toews’ family claimed at the time that his injuries came from a severe beating.

UPDATE I: This is bizarre, Mexican Police claim they have no leads or motive for the killing, yet they have set up roadblocks and are monitoring the airport for the killer, described as a tall, thin, dark-skinned man.

UPDATE II: 32 Year Old American Claims to be a Witness to Shooting

State police commander Enrique Wuilar in Cabo San Lucas says a 32-year-old American man who claims to have witnessed the shooting, as well as an argument between Bounthavorn and the shooter, is being held in custody.

UPDATE III: American Shooting Witness being Held by Mexican Police

An American man, 32 year old Mike Thompson from Illinois is a key witness in the shooting death of Bouabal Bounthavorn in Cabo San Lucas. However, Mexican police are holding Thompson in custody even though the Illinois man claims that he was trying to help the victims.

An American man who witnessed the shooting death of a Canadian in Cabo San Lucas is being held by Mexican authorities despite the fact his father says he tried to help the victims during the crime last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mike Thompson, 32, a project manager for a manufacturing company in Illinois, has become a key witness in the case, but is not being allowed to leave Mexico.

His father Roger Thompson, 57, said his son is innocent and doesn’t know why he is still being detained by Mexican police almost a week after the shooting.

“I just want my son home,” Roger Thompson said in an interview with Canwest News Service Tuesday. “I know my son — he’s done nothing wrong.”

The younger Thompson was set to leave Cabo San Lucas last Friday after a week-long vacation.

But what began as an attempt to offer help, has resulted in him being held by police.