Yesterday we told you about David Doehm's apparent suicide at the Princess Ramada. As we told you, the 59 year old appears to have left behind a suicide note. And today a picture emerged of what could be that note. Police will not make any further comment on the case, and would not comment on the note, but in it, the writer states, "I am here to end my own life, by my own hand and without the assistance or knowledge of anyone else."
The note goes unto speak about death by Nitrogen inhalation, and concludes that the writer is the victim of, quote, "a witch hunt conducted by the government of Belize."
The note seems to continue on the other side of the paper - and presumably that would detail the so called "witch hunt", but we don't know what it says, because the picture is only of the front side of the note.
Based on police sources, we can say with a fair degree of confidence that this is David Doehm's authentic suicide note found by police in his hotel room.
Doehm stood accused of child cruelty leading to the death of his 13 year old step-daughter Faye Lin Cannon in July of this year. The news of his suicide came yesterday, just as his wife Anke was just finishing a long day of family court in a custody case for her other daughters. Doehm's lawyer says she was in a state of shock upon hearing the news. 7News was there when she got home:
Sahar Vasquez reporting
When David Doehm was found dead in room 523 at the Princess/Ramada - the news of his suicide came as a shock to the Belizean public but none more than his wife Anke Doehm.
A few hours after hearing the unexpected news, a distraught Doehm walked briskly to her little apartment on Reggae Street after a long day at family court with tears rolling down her eyes.
Doehm checked into the Ramada Hotel alone yesterday and his body was found around 12:30 pm by a cleaner. He had a plastic bag over his face. He had used a tank of nitrogen to asphyxiate himself. The inhalation of nitrogen can knock a person unconscious after a few breaths, and in his case that is exactly what he wanted. A suicide note was also found in the room as well. Around 3:30 Police brought out his lifeless body wrapped in a yellow covering and put it in the pan of their pickup truck.
Anke Doehm reportedly knew her husband had gone to a hotel but she didn't know which hotel. Earlier in the day she had gone to different hotels to check if her husband was present, including the Ramada. She was not able to get any confirmation regarding her husband's stay when she went there but on her way out she did see some police activity. Little did she know her husband was the reason for the police?
Anke Doehm's future is uncertain. Her 13-year-old daughter is gone, her two other girls are in foster care, and now her husband who was always seen by her side is gone.
Police say that no date has been set for his postmortem examination - which is unusual since post mortem examinations are usually conducted the day after death.
Anke Doehm still faces the charge of cruelty to a child.
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