Police have quadrupled their presence on Bimini as they interrogate Bahamians and visitors who might be able to shed more light on the murders of two Austrian tourists.
They also intend to enlist the expertise of outside investigators, Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for crime Reginald Ferguson disclosed at a press briefing yesterday but he declined to give specifics.
The bodies of Bernhard Bolzano, 35 and Barbara Frelln Von Perfall, 32 were found shot to death in their hotel room at the Anchorage Bimini Blue Water Resort. Bolzano had been bound and gagged. They had arrived in Bimini on Thursday and were expected to leave on Saturday, the day that their bodies were found.
Both police and tourism officials have conceded that the incident could have serious adverse international implications for The Bahamas which thrives off the tourism industry.
“When you are investigating a matter of this nature, you have to keep an open mind and look at all the possibilities,” said ACP Ferguson. “Security is enhanced automatically by the fact that we sent a team of officers immediately after we received the report.
“With the assistance of the US Coast Guard, the team was headed by Mr. Ferguson. We also flew in a team of officers from Grand Bahama, so policing on that island right now is almost tripled or quadrupled.”
Mr. Ferguson revealed that police, up to that point, had no prime suspects, no motive and were uncertain about a time of death. There were also no signs of forced entry, and no evidence that the slayings were drug related.
The Austrian natives were last seen alive at around 3am on Saturday, police reported. Around noon that same day, a member of house keeping discovered their bodies at the resort.
Bolzano’s body was face down on the floor between two beds with his hands tied behind his back and gagged. He was shot in the upper back. Perfall was found laying on one of the beds with several serious head and facial wounds. She was shot in the stomach.
The room adjacent to the crime scene was vacant.
The bodies were flown to the capital for an autopsy.
Authorities appeared to remain cognizant of the potential for negative fallout for The Bahamas and moved to prevent an international backlash. The slayings happened as Aruba remains in the international media’s critical glare because of local authorities handling of a missing tourist whom some believe might have been murdered.
“I think that’s a major concern,” Mr. Ferguson said. “There is no question about that, not just for The Bahamas, for the entire Caribbean region, because if you look at the matter in Aruba, that is having a regional impact and certainly this type of thing in The Bahamas will have that kind of fallout because I have been in contact with the crime people in Aruba on that issue I have had the opportunity to talk to my counterpart down there,” Mr. Ferguson said.
The Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe was also compelled to make a statement on the situation, pointing out that due care and attention must be paid to the message that is sent to the world.
“It is important for us at all times to recognize that we live in a world where terrorism, criminality, and homicides place a tremendous amount of fear among the traveling public. We have to recognize that our nation has been able to succeed in its number one industry because of stability and security,” he said.
“We do not want to have our country’s name associated with anything that causes fear to the potential visitor. So anytime anything like this happens, we have to be very careful what message is being sent to the world and at the same time pray and hope that we would be able to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.”
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
