Three escaped prisoners charged with hijacking, murder of Virginia couple aboard yacht

Authorities say that a Virginia woman was raped before three escaped prisoners murdered her and her husband aboard a yacht in the Caribbean.

The incident occurred on February 18 in Grenada when Kathleen Brandel and her husband Ralph Hendry embarked on a journey of a lifetime, sailing their yacht around the crystal blue Caribbean sea.

On Thursday, the St. George's Magistrate's Court in Grenada charged Ron Mitchell, 30, Atiba Stanisclaus, 25, and Trevon Robertson, 23, with murder, kidnapping, escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, and robbery, per the Daily Mail.

Stanisclaus has also been charged with rape. Authorities say that he allegedly sexually assaulted Brandel before she was killed. The suspects are due back in court on March 27.



The three had escaped from the South St. George's Police Station on Feb. 18 before they allegedly went on to murder the couple after hijacking their yacht, Grenada police said.

Brandel and Hendry had been living on their yacht since 2013, which was primarily anchored in Florida. This was their first time sailing to the Caribbean. The couple were lifelong sailors and had been married for 27 years.

Authorities have not yet located the victim's bodies but investigators believe their bodies were dumped overboard while the inmates were traveling between Grenada and St. Vincent.





Before the three prison escapees had broken out of jail, they were being held on charges including illegally entering the country by boat and disembarking without the consent of an immigration officer, entering without a passport, entering at a non-official port of entry, and landing as a prohibited immigrant.

Brandel's son, Nick Buro, told CNN the family is still trying to get answers as to what played out on that tragic day.

"The boat itself was ransacked and everything was strewn about in the entire cabin so clearly there was an altercation of some type that took place on the boat," he said. "We are doing our best to try and get answers."

Buro explained that the couple was always "super careful" and made "safety" a "top concern" whenever they traveled the seas. He believes that this "horrific" event "came out of nowhere for them."

The boat that left Grenada around 10 am from Grand Anse Beach and was discovered by authorities four days later covered in blood stains, according to The St. Vincent Times.