Antigua police have charged a man with stabbing a lawmaker to death at his beachfront home.
Police on the Caribbean island charged landscape gardener Alexta Francis, 26, two days after she was arrested and questioned over the murder of Asot Michael. Francis was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday.
It was not immediately clear where Francisco was being held Saturday.
Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney praised the investigators for their “diligence and professionalism in handling the matter”. He later told The Associated Press that police had no plans to reveal a motive but would allow it to be revealed in court.
Michael, 54, was an independent member of parliament and a wealthy businessman who rose through the ranks of the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party to serve as a minister. Although he was well known among voters as a philanthropist, he was also barred from running by his party after various controversies, including an international bribery scandal of which he denied any wrongdoing.
He ran as an independent candidate in the 2023 elections and succeeded in retaining his seat in parliament.
Michael was found dead in his home on Antigua's west coast on Tuesday, and his housekeeper went to work and found his body with multiple stab wounds.
It is the first time such a crime has been committed against a member of parliament in the twin island province of Antigua and Barbuda.
On Thursday, the government announced it would ask the Metropolitan Police to assist with the investigation, but police said their assistance was no longer needed. The former British colony still has strong ties with Britain and has in the past requested the assistance of London police in high-profile cases.
