Hotel manager shot to death in Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Police are searching for the suspect who shot and killed the manager of the Hannibal Inn inside the hotel. Cliff Jawad, 44, was shot several times in the head at around 3:23 a.m. Tuesday, police said. He was found in the restaurant area of the hotel. He died about 80 minutes later at a hospital. Investigators interviewed guests and employees, but said no one heard or saw the shooting. The 242-room hotel was a Holiday Inn for many years and briefly a Ramada Inn before being turned over to local owners in 1996. The hotel hosts Hannibal's annual Missouri Democrat Days and many other events. Hannibal, the hometown of Mark Twain, is a popular regional tourist destination.

The inn was robbed twice this summer, and Jawad offered a $2,000 reward in June for the capture of the robber. Police Capt. Lyndell Davis declined to say if the robberies and the shooting were thought to be connected.

Jawad, 44, worked at the hotel for about 15 years and was the general manager for six years. A native of Jordan, Jawad lived in nearby Palmyra with his wife and two small children.