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But, last night Cowo was murdered - right in the heart of San Pedro. The evidence shows he was directly targeted by a gunman in a hoodie, one of those street executions, but the family doesn't know what triggered it. Sahar Vasquez found out more in San Pedro:...

Sahar Vasquez reporting
Before the sun rose this morning La Isla Bonita witnessed its first murder of the new year. In the centre of the town, shots rang out and pierced the body of 26-year-old Alfredo Cowo.

Voice of: George Cowo, Brother of the Deceased
"I got the understanding that somebody just flew pass, running pass, and he started shooting at him and his girlfriend. Because they were on a golf cart, sitting down, and watching a video. They said that when they were watching the video, they had their face down to the phone, and they started to hear shots ringing off. When the shots started ringing, he jumped down and went underneath his golf cart. It was when he girl came to the front, and his girl jumped on top of him. It looked like the gunman still came and still wanted to put to more in his head, but it looked like the gun snapped. From there, we picked up the man. They called us, and we picked up the man."

Cowo was rushed to the San Pedro Polyclinic and then to the KHMH which would be his last destination. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Cowo is no stranger to the San Pedro police, in fact, he had run into hot water on the island quite a few times but the most recent time was no fault of his.

Back in April of 2017, near to the very same spot where he would be murdered 9 months later, he became another victim of police brutality - after being shot in the feet by the cops for no reason. He shared his story with us a few days later.

Alfredo Cowo, Deceased
"The San Pedro police were beating up two girls. I went up close and just took out my phone to video. I videoed one of the QRT, when i turned around I noticed PC Madrill knocked me with something, I'm not sure if it was the butt of the gun. I just felt pain and I started to bleed, then PC came in and started to shoot up my feet. They just took our statement and released us without a charge. How will they charge us for aggravated assault? We didn't assault anyone nor did we have a criminal record. To be aggravated, I'm guessing you need a weapon."

And according to his sister and wife, since this incident, his life was being repeatedly threatened because he was speaking out and leading a criminal prosecution against the police.

Voice of: Victoria Ballella, Wife of Deceased
"It was because they shot him in his foot by the park. They have been in and out of court and they have thrown the case away. Now the police had threatened him and told him that it won't stay like this. He has a coffin ready for him."

Voice of: Anna Arjelia, Sister of Deceased
"The QRT told her in front of her face that he will not stop until he sends him in a box. Simple as that."

And for these two, the death of their loved one has not really sunk in. His sister who adored her brother never thought that something like this would happen. His wife admitted their marriage was in some turmoil, but what hurts her the most is that now her baby girl no longer has someone to call dad.

Anna Arjelia, Sister of Deceased
"Well to be honest he was a nice guy. He has his friends, but I don't even know what to say right now. He just didn't put himself with anyone, just stick to his business and liked to play pool, nothing else. This is the first time that something like this happened in our family. It's something surprising to us. I never expected something like that to happen but he was, out of all of them, he was my best brother."

Victoria Ballella, Wife of Deceased
"Well yes we had issues 2 weeks ago. We were not living together but he used to still maintain us with food and rent. He used to give me everything that I needed. It will hurt my daughter the most. My daughter will grow up without a father and that hurts me a lot."

Relatives tell us that Cowo had four children and one on the way. He had lived on San Pedro for about eight years. Notably, he was with his new girlfriend when he was killed - not his wife who you saw in the story.