A U.S. citizen was murdered in the carport of his Ajijic home during an attempted robbery Tuesday, November 29.
Stephen Christopher Kahr, 69, died almost instantly after being shot in the chest by an unknown assailant, according to Chapala Ministerio Publico (MP) agent Fernando Gutierrez Santillan.
At press time two suspects picked up within hours after the shooting were still in police custody. Neither has been positively identified by witnesses as the culprit. Authorities were awaiting results of forensic tests to determine recent use of a firearm.
Gutierrez said that the shooting occurred as Kahr was unloading groceries from his car, parked on the street just outside his residence at Calle Donato Guerra on the corner of 16 de Septiembre. Witnesses said that a young man apparently followed him into the carport and attempted to snatch his wallet from his back pants pocket. When Kahr swirled around and began resisting the assault, the would-be robber fired his weapon straight on.
The Reporter learned that his wife Patricia and their son David were inside the home putting away the purchases when they heard a commotion outside. They heard Kahr shout out “Give it back!” and rushed out in time to see him struggle with the aggressor before plummeting to the ground mortally wounded.
The killer was described as a young, well-dressed Mexican of slender build, about 1.75 meters in height. He was distinguished by bulging eyes, a thin face and fair skin. After the shooting he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape in the Kahr’s automobile, and then ran off on foot, headed east on 16 de Septiembre.
Gutierrez said investigators found the victim’s wallet on his person, indicating that the killer left empty-handed.
Minutes later, an attempted car jacking was reported in the same general vicinity. The incident involved two young men, one of whom was brandishing a gun. The female driver managed to foil the vehicle by throwing on a kill switch. The assailants then dashed ran off towards the lakefront.
Gutierrez said that Chapala police officers arriving at the scene promptly spread out to comb the neighborhood, and returned to the Kahr home after rounding up various suspects, none of whom matched the physical description of the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, the Chapala Red Cross responded to an emergency call placed at around 11:15 a.m. Paramedics who attended to Kahr said they applied advanced CPR techniques, but were unable to revive him due to the gravity of his gunshot wound.
The MP agent, along with his investigators and a state police unit, inspected and guarded the crime scene until a team from the Jalisco Forensics Institute arrived to gather evidence and remove Kahr’s body. The corpse was taken for an autopsy in Ocotlan around 3 p.m.
During the ordeal, police officers allowed several friends and neighbors to go inside the house to comfort Kahr’s stunned widow and her son.
Kahr was a retired lawyer from New York who began wintering in Ajijic with his spouse about four years ago. The couple had traveled extensively in Mexico throughout their married life.
The MP official said the murder does not appear to be linked to organized crime groups involved in a growing number of shooting incidents that have plagued the north shore area since the start of the year. He speculated, however, that the fatal assault bears some similarities to a series of late-night home invasion robberies that have been denounced by foreign residents in recent weeks.
The following day Chapala police chief corroborated the MP agent’s version of the murder, providing additional information about the two suspects. Both are Ajijic natives, labeled as close acquaintances, ages 30 and 33, with bad reputations. He said one of them has a prior criminal record, speaks English and walks with a limp.
The chief said he would take photographs of the pair, and encourages other crime victims to come to the police department to see if they recognize them. Seguridad Publica headquarters is located in Chapala at the corner of Niños Heroes and Zaragoza.
While expressing deep concern about the on-going deterioration of public security, Contreras qualified the Kahr homicide as an atypical crime for the lakeside area. Still, he said, “We will not rest until this case is solved.”
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