By: Staff Writer
August 6, 2025
A Grenada handed down life sentences for three escaped convicts that were found guilty in the murders of America sailors Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathy Brandel, 71
Ron Mitchell, a sailor in his 30s who was accused of being the ringleader, received two life sentences last week Wednesday. 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, and 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.
Hendry and Brandel disappeared from their yacht, Simplicity, which was docked in Grenada back in February 2024.
Hendry and Brandel were last seen alive by their boating neighbour at the dock on the afternoon of Sunday February 16, according to a family friend.
The neighbour also said he saw the couple entering a restaurant.
The Royal Grenada Police Force said the yacht allegedly became the target of Mitchell, Robertson and Stanislaus, all from St. Andrew, Grenada, who escaped from a police station after they were arrested earlier.
All three convicted murderers allegedly managed to make their way to a neighboring St Vincent and the Grenadines using the couple’s yacht, but they were caught by police in SVG very shortly after they arrived.
It was reported that Grenadian 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.
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.”