The three men who escaped police custody in the Caribbean and are accused of hijacking a catamaran and tossing an American couple overboard have been charged with murder, police said Thursday.
The Royal Grenada Police Force announced that Ron Mitchell, a 30-year-old unemployed man; Atiba Stanislaus, a 25-year-old farmer; and Trevon Robertson, a 23-year-old unemployed man were charged with capital murder in the presumed deaths of Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. They were also charged with escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery and kidnapping. Stanisclaus faces a rape charge.
Hendry and Brandel’s bodies have not been found.
The three men, all from Paradise, St. Andrew, are accused of escaping police custody from South St. George Police Station on Feb. 18 before hijacking the Simplicity in Grenada the next day. Hendry and Brandel, experienced sailors, were on their final voyage with the Salty Dawg Sailing Association when the tragedy occurred.
Police believe the men killed the couple as they sailed from Grenada to St. Vincent. The men were arrested in St. Vincent on immigration-related charges before authorities extradited them to Grenada this week.
The couple spent their retirement aboard the Simplicity, where they spent summers in New England and winters enjoying the Caribbean, according to a GoFundMe created for the family. The boat was moored at Grand Anse, which is near the police station the men escaped.
Simplicity was found abandoned in St. Vincent, Salty Dawg said. Investigators found evidence of a struggle and possible blood onboard.
“We live in [a] world that at times can be cruel, but it’s also a world of profound beauty, wonder, adventure, love, compassion, caring, and faith. Our parents encompassed all those values and so much more,” the couple’s sons said in a statement.
