Dele's brother dies

[David]

Saturday, September 28, 2002
Dabord left documents in event of his death
Associated Press

PAPEETE, Tahiti -- Police want to see documents left with a lawyer by Miles Dabord, the late brother of former NBA player Bison Dele and a key witness in Dele's disappearance.

Dabord, 35, died Friday night in Chula Vista, Calif., where he was hospitalized Sept. 14. He was found in a coma after returning from the islands of French Polynesia, where he sailed with Dele and two others who have been missing since early July.

The FBI has learned that Dabord left behind papers to be opened after his death, an official involved in the French investigation said. Authorities believe the documents contain an account of what happened to his brother, said the official, who asked that his name not be used.

Authorities in French Polynesia believe that Dele, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, and their boat's skipper, Bertrand Saldo, were killed July 7 off a tiny, remote island in the South Pacific. Dele was a member of the Chicago Bulls' 1996-97 championship team.

Dabord was the only other person on board his brother's 55-foot catamaran, and officials in French Polynesia suspect he was involved.

Doctors at the California hospital had told Dabord's mother there was little hope for his survival -- and on Thursday she asked that life-support systems keeping him alive be disconnected.

"Dabord died this evening,'' Monica Montano, a spokeswoman for Scripps Memorial Hospital in Chula Vista told The Associated Press. She declined to give the cause or exact time of death.

In Tahiti, investigating judge Jean-Bernard Taliercio said he had been informed that Dabord was removed from life support.

At the Tahiti port of Taravao, officials recently probed Dele's luxurious sailboat with a metal detector, looking for bullets. None was found, judge Taliercio said.

However, investigators have found traces of blood and signs there was a struggle aboard, the judge said. They believe a wrench might have been used as a weapon.

Officials in both the United States and French Polynesia have been interviewing people who spoke to Dabord after the disappearances, including his ex-girlfriend, Erica Weise, who says he described a struggle on the boat.

FBI agents wanted to talk to a New Zealand woman who has been reluctant to testify, the French judge said. Authorities believe Dabord called her from the boat's satellite phone shortly after the disappearances. Her connection to Dabord has not been explained.


Copyright ©2002 ESPN Internet Ventures.

[Rhylan]

Has anyone bothered to report why exactly Dabord ended up in a coma in the first place???

[David]

I read where Dabord took an overdose of insulin and failed to take his asthema medicine.

[Rhylan]

Probably all on purpose, no doubt.