Judge in Grenada sentences 3 escaped prisoners found guilty in killing of US yachting couple

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Three escaped prisoners from the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada who were accused of killing an elderly U.S. couple last year after hijacking their catamaran have been sentenced.

Ron Mitchell, a sailor in his 30s who was accused of being the ringleader, received two life sentences late Wednesday in the killings of Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel.

Atiba Stanislaus, a farmer in his late 20s, received 60 years for manslaughter and nearly 18 years for the rape of Brandel, among other sentences, for a variety of crimes including kidnapping.

Trevon Robertson, an unemployed man in his early 20s, received 56 years for manslaughter and other sentences for different crimes, according to local media reports.

The New Today, a local newspaper, reported that prosecutors said the men bound and gagged the couple before throwing them overboard, with Mitchell accused of steering the yacht over Hendry.

The two bodies were never found.

Police at the time said the men had escaped in late February 2024 from the South Saint George Police Station. They hijacked the catamaran Simplicity on the following day and then headed to nearby St. Vincent, where they were arrested, according to authorities.

The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association had said that Hendry and Brandel were “veteran cruisers” and longtime members of the association, calling them “warm-hearted and capable.”

It said the couple was spending the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.