| Ben Abou-Nehra Murder Charge Dropped to Manslaughter |
| Tue, May 8, 2007 |
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After a long absence and many missed court dates due to illness abroad, Ben
Abou-Nehra is expected to appear in court for trial on Monday. The well known
businessman was accused of the murder of Shawn Copius, who was killed outside
Abou-Nehra's yard.
It was set to be one of the most high profile murder trials in recent memory,
but not anymore. That's because the charge has been downgraded to manslaughter.
7NEWS has received credible information which tells us that the DPP's
office has issued an indictment for manslaughter.
With that, Abou-Nehra, who has not been in the country since December when
former DPP Kirk Anderson upgraded the charge to murder, is expected to be in
court on Monday. Because it is manslaughter, he can now get the bail that would
have been denied him if the murder charge stood.
Today his attorney Dickie Bradley told us that he sees no reason why Abou-Nehra
should not be here because, referring "his doctor said he's coming along
very well." Bradley said he didn't know if the charge would be murder
if manslaughter because as he sees it there's nothing in the file to support
either charge.
And indeed that may be so. Reports to us say that Abou-Nehra's statement given
on the night of the killing has mysteriously disappeared from the case file.
We'll tell you what happens in court on Monday.
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