Three prison escapees charged with murder after US sailing couple vanishes
Three inmates who fled prison have been charged with murder following a missing US couple whose boat was hijacked while sailing in the Caribbean.
Ron Mitchell, a 30-year-old sailor; Atiba Stanislaus, a 25-year-old farmer; and Trevon Robertson, a 23-year-old unemployed man, were charged with capital murder, escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery and kidnapping. Stanislaus also was charged with one count of rape, according to a statement from the Royal Grenada Police Force.
They were accused of escaping from a police holding cell on February 18 and hijacking a catamaran owned by Ralph Henry and Kathy Brandel while they were aboard. Authorities said they believe the couple was thrown overboard as the suspects sailed to nearby St. Vincent, where they were arrested on February 21.
The three men appeared in court on Thursday and were ordered to be held in Richmond Hill prison until their hearing in late March.
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Ron Mitchell (RSVG Police Force)
Abita Stanislaus (RSVG Police Force)Grenada police commissioner Don McKenzie confirmed the three men were ordered deported from St. Vincent on Monday. “Information suggests that while traveling between Grenada and St Vincent, they disposed of the occupants,” Mr McKenzie said.
The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association identified the owners as Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. It said they were “veteran cruisers” and longtime members of the association, calling them “warmhearted and capable.”
The association said a cruising skipper had contacted the association about a member’s yacht, Simplicity, that was found “anchored and abandoned” off a beach on the island of St. Vincent.
Trevon Robertson (RSVG Police Force)“The good Samaritan had boarded the boat and noted that the owners … were not onboard and found evidence of apparent violence,” the association said in a statement.
The association said Hendry and Brandel had sailed the yacht in last year’s Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua, and were spending the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.
“This is a very upsetting event and details are still unconfirmed by the authorities, but this does appear to be a tragic event,” said Bob Osborn, the association’s president. “In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this.”
Hendry’s son Bryan and Brandel’s son Nick Buro paid tribute to their parents after news confirmed the pair were tragically found dead.
In a statement, they said:: “Ralph and Kathy lived a life that most of us can only dream of, sailing the eastern coast of the United States, living on their home Simplicity, making friends with everyone they encountered, singing, dancing and laughing with friends and family – that’s who Ralph and Kathy were and that’s how they will be remembered in our hearts.”
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