A Virginia woman believed to have been murdered along with her husband by escaped convicts who stole the couple’s yacht in the Caribbean was allegedly raped by one of the killers, police said.
One of the three men charged with the couple’s murder raped Cathy Blundell, 71, before the trio raped her and her husband Ralph on a sailboat last month, Grenada Royal Police said. He is accused of killing Mr. Hendry, 66.
Ron Mitchell, Atiba Stanislaus and Trevon Robertson were indicted Thursday on two counts of capital murder, as well as two counts of escape from lawful custody, burglary, robbery and kidnapping. the police said.
Stanislaus, 25, was also charged with one count of rape in the death. The Royal Grenada Police Force confirmed in a statement that the rape charge was related to the assault on Blundell. daily mail.
The Royal Grenada Police Force did not immediately respond to questions about what evidence led to the additional charges, given that Blundell’s body had not been recovered.
The couple’s bodies have not been found since February 18, when they were last seen near a catamaran named Simplicity in St. George’s, Grenada. On the same day, the three men allegedly robbed a police cell on the island. .
Police believe the fugitives hijacked the yacht while the couple were on board. A few days later, the ship was found anchored and unoccupied.
A large amount of blood was found on the ransacked boat, but Hendry and Blundell were nowhere to be found. Police believe the gunmen dumped the body overboard while en route to St. Vincent.
The three were arrested in St. Vincent on February 21 and extradited to Grenada on Monday, where they were arraigned in court and sent back to prison.
The men were detained on suspicion of robbery before fleeing.
The two are scheduled to appear in court again on March 27th.
Blundell and Hendry, both experienced cruisers, were living on a sailboat at the time of their brutal deaths.
The couple’s children remembered their parents in a touching statement.
“We live in a world that is sometimes cruel, but also one filled with profound beauty, wonder, adventure, love, care, compassion and faith,” they said in a statement.
“Our parents embraced all those values and more. If we learned anything from this tragic event, it’s that we are better than we were before they were born.” He died there.”
