Jury selected in Bou-Nahra manslaughter trial

After a series of setbacks, including the disappearance of a police file and the accused being out of the country, this morning a jury was empanelled to hear the case against Ben Bou-Nahra. In May of this year, Bou-Nahra was ordered to stand trial in connection the death of Shawn Copius, who was shot five times by the defendant in the early morning hours of September seventeenth, 2005. The Belize City businessman had initially claimed that he shot Copius because he caught him attempting to burglarize his King Park’s home. But investigators later discovered physical evidence which clashed with Bou-Nahra’s version. This morning, the accused, flanked by his attorneys Kareem Musa, Ellis Arnold, and Dickie Bradley, entered the courtroom of Justice Troadio Gonzalez where a nine member jury was selected. The judge has set this Friday, July twentieth, for the start of the trial. The matter will be prosecuted by Cecil Ramirez from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.