Mexican authorities say no evidence Alberta man was beaten
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | 8:00 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Mexican officials say a Canadian man was severely injured on the grounds of a resort in an accident, but his family accuses authorities of covering up a horrific beating.
Jeff Toews, 34, of Grande Prairie, Alta., was found by security guards early Monday morning on the grounds of the Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort in Cancun.
From his bedside at a local hospital, Toews' brother Murray said he was on life support and was not expected to survive. He was surrounded by his brothers — including twin Gregg — and his parents, who flew up Monday night.
"He received serious head injuries, four blows to the head, and he's been beat very bad on his back," Murray Toews said in a telephone interview.
Jeff Toews was on a seven-day vacation with his wife, Natalie, and nine other couples from northern Alberta.
On Monday night, the group was at the resort's Andromeda nightclub into the wee hours. Jeff was going back and forth between his room and the club over the course of the evening, but at one point, he didn't return.
A security guard told Jeff's wife that something had gone wrong.
Gregg rushed to Jeff's location and administered CPR until an ambulance arrived. Jeff is now in a medically induced coma.
Jeff has a three-year-old son, who was staying with family in Grande Prairie.
"It's unthinkable how somebody could do this to somebody," Murray Toews said.
While the family alleges Jeff was the victim of a beating, the top prosecutor for the state of Quintana Roo said there is no evidence of foul play.
Bello Melchor Rodriguez y Carrillo — the same man who has been overseeing the controversial case of a Toronto couple murdered at a resort last year — said the incident was an accident.
"He wasn't beaten. He fell from a second storey of the hotel where he was staying," Rodriguez y Carrillo said in an interview. "That's the report that we have from the security guard from the hotel, and the report we're getting from the hospital too."
The prosecutor later said that Jeff was "running to a second floor, lost control and fell."
He said he did not know whether the hotel had video surveillance of its grounds.
Murray Toews said his brother had never been on the second floor, and the family believes Jeff was being pursued at the time by security guards.
"It's all a big coverup," said Murray Toews.
He added that staff at the hotel have been of no assistance to the family, but they have received help from Canadian officials at the consulate in Cancun.
An RCMP officer stationed in Mexico City was also scheduled to visit the family.
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the government is waiting for the results of a local police investigation before deciding its next move.
Toews is the latest in a string of high-profile cases of Canadians injured or killed in violent acts in Mexico.
Last February, Domenic and Nancy Ianiero of Woodbridge, Ont., were found with their throats slit at a resort near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The murder has still not been solved, and the family lawyer has accused Rodriguez y Carrillo of botching the case and lying about the details.
In January, Adam DePrisco, 19, also of Woodbridge, was killed outside an Acapulco nightclub. A Mexican doctor blamed the teen's death on a hit-and-run driver, but his family and friends believe he was beaten to death.
Last month, two Canadians were injured when a gunman fired into the lobby of a hotel in Acapulco, Mexico.
Every year, a million Canadians visit Mexico, which has seen a surge in drug-related violence.
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