Killing of Vancouver man in Costa Rica a targeted hit: private detective
Victim sold futures in unregulated market
A father from Vancouver shot dead in his home in Costa Rica was the victim of a targeted hit, according to a private investigator in the Central American country.
Brad Deering, 42, and three others were inside his gated community home in San Jose on Thursday morning when three men stormed the house, shot and killed Deering and tied up the others.
According to private investigator Douglas Smith, local police are calling the attack a home invasion, but "that doesn't make sense."
"This wasn't a household robbery, this was a hit," Smith said from his office in Costa Rica. "They had one intention and one intention alone of capping him."
While Smith isn't investigating the case, he said he was made aware of the killing by close friends of Deering.
According to Smith, three men dressed as security officers fooled a guard outside Deering's home into letting them in.
They tied up the guard, broke into the home and tied up three people while Deering tried to escape. They ultimately found Deering and shot him three times.
"A home invasion usually is at night ... most of the time in home invasions they wait for people not to be there," Smith said. "In this case they went in prepared, tied people up in broad daylight.
"It doesn't measure up as a home invasion."
According to Smith, Deering "sold futures" in Costa Rica - an unregulated and dangerous business in that country.
"Buying futures as an investment is the most dangerous, most speculative investment you can possibly do," he said. "Buying them from any broker in Costa Rica, you're playing in the twilight zone."
Smith speculates that someone targeted Deering because they either lost money in a deal with him, or simply because his wealth was known, as he owned three expensive cars and lived in an expensive home.
"He made himself a target in Costa Rica," said Smith, but added that those who knew Deering had "nothing but nice things" to say about him. He had a young daughter, aged around four, from a previous marriage.
The Canadian consulate did not respond to requests for information by deadline.
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