HUNTER: What’s missing in murder of beloved Owen Sound resto owner?

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There always seemed to be something sinister behind the shocking murder of beloved Owen Sound restaurant owner Sharif Rahman.

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Dine-and-dash incidents do not typically turn fatal.

On Aug. 17, 2023, just three customers remained at Rahman’s popular eatery, the Curry House, on 2nd Ave. E. south of 10th St.

Out on the street in front of the restaurant he had poured his life into, the 44-year-old Rahman was brutally beaten. He died a week later in a London hospital, never regaining consciousness.

At first glance, it appeared that the killers were skipping on the bill but now police sources believe things aren’t quite as simple.

Cops revealed on Thursday they had made arrests on July 30. And that was the extent of it. No names. Ages. Possible motives. Nothing.

This has been a troubling trend in recent years, as in the case of Windsor cops withholding the name of the killer in what was that city’s most disturbing murder

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Ljubica Topic was just six years old when she was murdered on May 14, 1971. Superb detective work solved the case in 2019 but the brass, citing privacy, kept the killer’s name out of the paper.

Thanks to the efforts of the Windsor Star — and new police leadership — Frank Arthur Hall was later named as the killer. He died months before the case was solved.

There was no reason for holding back the name of little Ljubica’s murderer. The slaying of Rahman is different.

“It’s super weird,” one veteran homicide detective told the Toronto Sun. “I don’t even know how they can do that.”

But the detective — who asked not to be identified — said he believed there were likely many more issues at play. He doesn’t believe Rahman’s murder was a run-of-the-mill dine-and-dash.

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“It sounds as though it could be a South Asian gang shakedown,” the investigator said. “If it was just some kind of hillbilly thing, skipping out on the bill, why wouldn’t you release the names? No, there’s something else going on.”

Another retired investigator concurred.

“The [Owen Sound] Police Chief, Craig Ambrose, was a veteran homicide investigator with Waterloo Police. His hands will be all over this,” the second source said.

“If this was a cut-and-dry incident, he’d release the names. In this case, they are almost certainly protecting the integrity of a very complicated investigation.”

Cops said as much.

“Due to the complexity of this ongoing investigation and to protect its integrity and potential court proceedings, the OPP and OSPS are unable to comment further at this time. Updates will be provided when they become available,” police said in a joint news release.

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Even the two-week delay in announcing the arrests was put down to “complexities”.

The senselessness of the murder shook Owen Sound and the surrounding area to its core. All cops had were descriptions and grainy images of the suspected killers.

Two men running from the area and a vehicle linked to the sickening crime and for a time, they were ghosts.

At the time of the murder, there was an outpouring of support from the community and a GoFundMe raised $250,000 for Rahman’s family.

Rahman — born in Bangladesh — studied economics at the University of Glasgow where he earned his master’s degree in international development.

He moved to Canada in 2013 and opened the Curry House in 2015. He rapidly became a community fixture, fundraising, joining committees, whatever was necessary to help his neighbours and be a stellar citizen.

The type of person we are desperately short of.

Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

[email protected]

@HunterTOSun

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