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Aussie Man Killed, Dumped in Croc-Infested African River by Gay Lover

Aussie Man Killed, Dumped in Croc-Infested African River by Gay Lover

Aussie Man Killed, Dumped in Croc-Infested African River by Gay Lover
FACEBOOK/L-N/SHUTTERSTOCK

The alleged killer was upset his lover was returning to Australia without him.

New details have emerged in the horrifying case of a gay Australian man missing in Africa since last October.

Recently discovered video posted to social media by a local news site in the Republic of Congo shows Bebeka Clement confessing to poisoning his boyfriend, 57-year-old Mark Ciavarella, last October, watching him die over a period of over 30 minutes, and then dumping his weighted body down a highway embankment and into the crocodile-infested Congo River. Two other men have also been arrested in connection with the murder.

Family members in Australia said they last heard from Ciavarella on October 26 last year. He had been living in the Republic of Congo for the last six years employed as a music and English teacher first at the American International School and most recently at the French Consular School in the capital city of Brazzaville.

Ross Ciavarella told the Australian network ABC his cousin was in good spirits and looking forward to returning home to NSW.

“All his friends had similar conversations in the days leading up to his disappearance, he was all in a good place, sound mind,” Ross said.

Ciavarella reportedly had been living with Clement in a sexual relationship since 2016. Police allege Clement and an accomplice killed him to empty his bank accounts after Ciavarella revealed he was returning home to Australia.

Clement can be seen in the video, posted last November, handcuffed to his alleged accomplice, a man identified only as Mr. Mavi. In a transcript of the video provided by ABC, Clement recalls coming home to find Ciavarella and Mavi together.

“He is going to leave you and won’t give you anything,” Clement claims Mavi told him at the time. “You need to do something to get the benefits.”

When Clement asked what he could do, he says Mavi replied “I have the solution” and returned a few days later with a bottle of poison.

“Mr. Mark got up to pee in the shower, Mr. Mavi got the poison out and poured it in Mr. Mark’s glass,” Clement says in the video. “Then Mr. Mark drank the poison.”

Clement says Ciavarella went to sleep and died 30 to 40 minutes later. A third man then came with a truck to help them dispose of the body.

Police and experts say there is little chance of ever finding the Ciavarella’s body. Not only is the Congo River the world’s deepest at a reported 219 meters in some spots, but the river is also infested with deadly crocodiles who would have quickly eaten the man’s remains.

In his hometown back in Australia, townsfolks are still having difficulty coming to terms with Ciavarella’s shocking murder.

“He was well know to a lot off people in town. He was very highly regarded and respected,” Leeton Mayor Tony Reneker said of Ciavarella. “There is a feeling of sadness and also shock.”

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Donald Padgett

Managing Editor at OutTraveler. Also write for Out, The Advocate, and Plus magazines.

Managing Editor at OutTraveler. Also write for Out, The Advocate, and Plus magazines.