3 Suspects Charged With Murdering Advisor, Wife Who Vanished at Sea
The suspects are also charged with kidnapping and escaping lawful custody, among other crimes.
Three recaptured fugitives suspected of killing a U.S. financial advisor and his wife after boarding their yacht in Grenada have been charged with capital murder and other serious offenses, the Royal Grenada Police Force announced Thursday.
Ron Mitchell, age 30 and unemployed; Abita Stanislaus, 25, a farmer; and Trevon Robertson, 23 and unemployed, all of Paradise, St. Andrew, were jointly charged with two counts of capital murder by intentionally causing the death of Ralph Hendry and Kathleen Brandel, both U.S. citizens, the police said in a statement.
They were also charged with escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery and two kidnapping counts, and Stanislaus also was charged with one count of rape.
All three made their first court appearance at St. George’s Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and were remanded to His Majesty’s Prison. They are scheduled to be brought back to court on March 27, the police said.
(Police spellings for Stanislaus’ first and last names have been inconsistent. ThinkAdvisor was seeking clarification Thursday.)
Authorities last month said Hendry, a 30-year financial industry veteran from Virginia, and his wife, Brandel, were presumed dead after disappearing off their yacht in Grenada last week, although police had said they held out hope the couple might be alive.
The three suspects, who are alleged to have murdered Hendry and Brandel after escaping a police station holding cell in Grenada, were ordered deported from St. Vincent on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Hendry was registered as a broker and investment advisor with Independent Financial Group LLC.
In a news conference last month, the Royal Grenada Police Force commissioner said information suggests the trio commandeered Hendry and Brandel’s catamaran Simplicity and that “they disposed of the occupants” while sailing between Grenada and St. Vincent.
The suspects had escaped police custody on Feb. 18 and were recaptured by police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Feb. 21, authorities said.
A GoFundMe started on behalf of the couple’s sons suggested Hendry and Brandel’s “lives ended in unimaginable tragedy on Sunday, February 19th, off the shores of Grand Anse Beach, Grenada.”
Police in Grenada didn’t immediate answer an email and a social media message Thursday seeking more information.
Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. Photo via Hendry and Brandel’s GoFundMe page