Three Grenada men have received lengthy prison sentences for killing an American financial advisor and his wife after boarding their yacht last year while fleeing from justice, according to news reports.
Ron Mitchell received two life sentences in late July for murdering Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathleen Brandel, 71, a Virginia couple whose bodies were never found, The Associated Press reported.
Mitchell, in his early 30s, must wait 50 years before becoming eligible for parole, according to The New Today newspaper, which noted that prosecutors called him the ringleader. He also received sentences for housebreaking, two kidnapping counts and robbery with violence, the newspaper reported.
The other two men, in their 20s, were sentenced for manslaughter and other crimes in connection with the case.
Atiba Stanislaus (in some news reports identified as Stanisclaus) was sentenced to 60 years total for two manslaughter counts, over 17 years for raping Brandel, and received other sentences for kidnapping, robbery with violence and housebreaking, according to news reports.
Trevon Robertson was handed 56 years in prison for two manslaughter counts and other sentences for kidnapping and housebreaking, according to The New Today.
The men will serve some sentences concurrently and others consecutively, the newspaper reported.
The trio from St. Andrew had escaped from a police station, where they were held with regard to various violent crimes, in February 2024, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutors presented evidence that the fugitives boarded the couple’s catamaran Simplicity in Grenada, bound and gagged them and threw them into the Caribbean while fleeing on the vessel to St. Vincent, according to the article.
While Hendry tried to swim to a dinghy attached to the boat, Mitchell steered it over him, according to prosecutors, per the New Today article.
Hendry, a 30-year financial industry veteran from Virginia, was registered as a broker with Independent Financial Group LLC. He was founder and president of Potomac Wealth Management Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile.
High Court Judge Madame Justice Paula Gilford called the case among the most “heinous” she had handled, The New Today reported.
“This unimaginably cruel and brutal crime against our fellow sailors cannot be forgotten,” Mike Benjamin, president of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, wrote in a post about the case in August.
Hendry and Brandel were Salty Dawg members.
“There is no punishment that can bring Kathy and Ralph back to their families. There is no sentence that can fully heal the pain or make this tragedy ‘all better,’” he said.
Pictured: Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel
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