Murdered Virginia Couple’s Catamaran Was Hijacked by 3 Escaped Prisoners, Police Say

Ron Mitchell, Atiba Stanisclaus, and Trevon Robertson are the suspects accused in the murders of U.S. citizens Ralph Hendry and Kathleen Brandel during a yacht hijacking off the coast of Grenada.

On March 7, the Royal Grenada Police Force announced the charges and described the suspects as “recaptured prisoners.” The police force wrote in a statement that the three suspects were charged “with capital murder” and other “serious” offenses.

According to The New York Times, Hendry and Brandel disappeared off the coast of Grenada after their catamaran “Simplicity” was hijacked. The couple was from Virginia.

ABC News reported that the couple, married almost three decades, were living on the yacht and were originally from Falls Church, Virginia.

“Several items were strewn on the deck,” police spokesman Junior Simmons told ABC News, adding that the catamaran’s cabin contained “a red substance that resembled blood.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Grenada Police Announced That the Men Are Accused of a String of Charges Connected to the Deaths

According to the police news release, Mitchell is 30, Stanisclaus is 25, and Robertson is 23. They were described as “unemployed, all of Paradise, St. Andrew.”

They were “jointly charged with two counts of Capital Murder by intentionally causing the death of Ralph Hendry and Kathleen Brandel, Citizens of the United States of America,” the release says.

“They were also charged for the offences of Escaping Lawful Custody, Housebreaking, Robbery, and two counts of Kidnapping. Additionally, Atiba Stanislaus, was charged with one count of rape,” according to the release.

“All three made their first court appearance at St. George’s Magistrate’s Court today, Thursday 7th March 2024, and were remanded to His Majesty’s Prison,” police wrote. “They are scheduled to be brought back to court on Wednesday 27th March 2024.”

Kathleen Brandel’s Facebook page says she was married in 2018.

The Couple Had Sailed to Antigua Before Their Catamaran Was ‘Commandeered’ by the Escaped Prisoners, Reports Say

In a news conference, Grenada police said the two Americans were believed to have been “killed” as part of the aftermath of a prison escape.

Commissioner Don McKenzie said in the news conference that the three prisoners escaped from a police station. He said he was limited in what he could say.

On Sunday, February 18, the prisoners “escaped policy custody,” McKenzie said. On about Monday, they “commandeered” the catamaran with “two occupants on board,” McKenzie said.

They “disposed of the occupants” while traveling in the catamaran, he said. On Wednesday, they were captured, McKenzie said.

According to WTKR, the couple “left Hampton in November and sailed to Antigua. It was part of a rally organized by the Salty Dawg Sailing Association.”

“They weren’t just religious in church,” said Pete Sisson a friend of the victims, to WTKR. “They had a warm heart and befriended people very easily.”

The couple’s family released a lengthy statement about them to WTKR. It reads, in part,

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. If we have learned anything from this tragic event, it’s that we know they left this world in a better place than it was before they were born. 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.

We are grateful to have been raised by the strongest people that we will ever know, and we hope that we can follow in their footsteps and strive to be even half as wonderful as them. So many people have reached out with love and encouragement, sharing stories and anecdotes of their memories of Ralph and Kathy, and those stories are what we want them to be remembered by.

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