Ramgahan murder trial starts with denials

TESTIMONY: Oren Shlomo Mayer, one of two main suspects, said Ewart Odane Bent, the other, had framed him, but Bent said he had witnessed the killing unintentionally

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





The two principal suspects in last year’s murder of Canadian resident Sanjay Ryan Ramgahan in New Taipei City, both US nationals, yesterday at the start of their trial gave conflicting accounts and accused each other of carrying out the crime, while prosecutors brought new charges against two alleged accomplices.

Prosecutors have said that 37-year-old Oren Shlomo Mayer, who has dual US and Israeli citizenship, masterminded the murder and instructed the accomplices.

Evidence pointed to both Mayer and his American friend, Ewart Odane Bent, 30, being together during and after the killing, they said.

Ramgahan’s dismembered body was found at a riverside park by the Sindian River (新店溪) in Yonghe District (永和) on Aug. 22 last year.

Police said an examination of telephone records and other investigations indicated that the killing might have been due to disputes over sales of cannabis and other drugs, as people suspected Ramgahan of being a police informant.

Prosecutors in December indicted Mayer and Bent on murder charges, as well as for abandonment and destruction of a corpse.

Two other men were also arrested: Taiwanese-Canadian Wu Hsuan (吳宣), 21, also known as Dan Wu, and US national Jason Hobbie, 46, who authorities believe were accomplices in the crime.

Investigators said that Mayer had instructed Wu and Hobbie to purchase machetes, fireworks and gasoline to help dispose of the body and that both men might have helped destroy evidence.

Prosecutors on Wednesday ahead of the hearing said that they would charge Wu and Hobbie with the more serious crime of “aiding and abetting in a homicide,” which carries a heavier punishment than “aiding and abetting in causing bodily harm resulting in death,” the original charge.

During separate cross-examinations on the first day of the trial at the New Taipei District Court, Mayer and Bent denied having carried out the actual killing, and during their testimonies, they both said that the other man was responsible for the crime.

Mayer was quoted as saying that he had not been at the murder scene that night, had not seen Ramgahan being killed, did not know what had happened, and did not help cut up and dismember the body.

Court officials said that Mayer pinned the murder on Bent, saying that Bent had made threats against his girlfriend and his son, and had given false accounts to implicate Mayer in the crime.

However, Bent’s testimony contradicted those statements.

He was cited as saying that Mayer called him to meet up at the riverside park, but he did not know why at the time, and when Ramgahan arrived, they began drinking beer and it seemed like a regular gathering, with the friends chatting casually.

Bent was cited as saying that Mayer then used a wire saw to strangle Ramgahan from behind.

When Mayer called Bent to help him, Ramgahan was already lying on the ground with his eyes closed and was not breathing, Bent was quoted as saying, adding that he kicked Ramgahan to check for signs of life, but it seemed that he was already dead.

Mayer has a dominant personality and is prone to outbursts, so Bent was afraid to ask questions or disobey Mayer’s instruction and did what he was told, Bent was quoted as saying.

Bent admitted to taking part in dismembering the body and putting the parts in plastic bags to toss into the river in an attempt to cover up the crime, but said that he was told to do so by Mayer.

The court said Bent emphasized that when Mayer called him and proposed to meet up that night, Bent had no knowledge of the murder plan and did not know what was going to happen.

Mayer’s lawyer, Leon Huang (黃致豪), said that Bent’s statements had influenced Wu and Hobbie, and the three men are colluding to pin everything on Mayer.

Huang asked the judges to re-examine the evidence against Mayer and demanded direct cross-examination between Mayer and Bent, and between Mayer and Hobbie.

However, prosecutors said that they had presented sufficient evidence to prove the charges and asked the court to deny Huang’s motions.