Posted by Dave Dykema - email
DEFIANCE, OH (WTOL) - A family is putting up $5,000 of their own money to try to solve the murder of their brother.
The reward concerns the murder of carryout clerk Bassam (Sam) Kanouh who was shot while working at Lewis Carryout on Lewis Ave. in November. With police working few leads, there's hope the promise of a reward will lead to some action.
Bashar Kanouh set up the fund. Sam was his brother. Bashar left Syria for the United States in his 20s, Sam followed ten years later. According to Bashar, they shared a tight bond.
When Sam was shot and called 911, it was Bashar Sam wanted police to call.
"He was still alive," Bashar said. "He had detectives call me on my phone but I had it turned off."
Bashar says his brother, a husband and father of three, took the job earlier last year after he was laid off as a machinist.
Sam worked midnights. Bashar didn't like it.
The night Sam was killed, Bashar called Sam and told him he had found him a new job.
While Bashar sat with Sam's family in his hospital room after he had passed, Sam's customers made a makeshift memorial at the store. They told stories about a clerk who gave away umbrellas when it rained, taught young customers math with his register and let them slide if they were short a dollar or two.
Bashar feels, "It's senseless for anyone to lose their life for 20 to 40 bucks... He had been under a gun before. He gave up the money. There was no incident. I find it strange. What happened this time? Why?"
When the crime occurred, the store had no surveillance cameras to supply video as to who did it. Bashar hopes to find out those answers with a new $5,000 reward.
Bashar has words for the killer/s who tried to break this brotherly bond. "I have no idea how you live with yourself knowing this is what you impacted. This is the life you destroyed."
If you know anything about this case, call CrimeStopper at 419-255-1111.
