American Charged in McMillen Murder Case on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (Caribbean)
Jim Morris
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/08/11/britishvirginisland.crime.ap/in
dex.html
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/224/region/Four_Americans_to_stand_trial_:.s
html
http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/2000/08/11/tortola0811_01.htm
l
http://www.manhattanfile.com/culturefile.html
http://www.b-v-i.com/newslinks/
The following is the Hartford Courant article:
Long Island Man To Be Tried For Murder In Artist's Death
Caribbean Trial Begins In October
By JOHN SPRINGER
http://courant.ctnow.com/news/update/tortola_hearing.stm
A Long Island man will stand trial for the brutal killing of Middlebury
artist Lois Livingston McMillen on a Eastern Caribbean island in January, a
British magistrate ruled today.
Three other men will also be tried for allegedly trying to cover up the
crime and obstruct the investigation by authorities on the island of Tortola
in the British Virgin Islands, Magistrate Gail Charles announced at the
conclusion of a probable cause hearing that was closed to the public.
McMillen's body was discovered draped over rocks Jan. 15 on a shore road
strewn with her personal belongings. An autopsy established that the
34-year-old McMillen drowned following a violent struggle. She was fully
clothed and had not been sexually assaulted.
McMillen was the daughter of Russell McMillen and Josephine McMillen of
Middlebury, who were permitted in the courtroom to hear government
prosecutors lay out evidence against the four men. The men pleaded not
guilty and have insisted they had nothing to do with Lois McMillen's death.
William Labrador, who is being held without bail on the murder charge, told
police in a sworn affidavit Jan. 18 that he last saw McMillen more than 24
hours before she was killed at a bar where she and the four suspects had
cocktails and chicken wings. McMillen met Labrador on a trip to Tortola in
1997, when they were introduced by suspect Michael Spicer, 36, of
Washington, D.C.
Spicer's family has owned a house next to the McMillen's villa since 1981.
Labrador, a 36-year-old investment banker from Southampton, N.Y., told
police that he was at Spicer's villa alone watching ESPN and the Learning
Channel on the night McMillen was killed.
Spicer and two other houseguests -- Alexander Benedetto, 35, of New York,
and Evan George, 23, of Washington, D.C. -- told police that they were
bar-hopping that night and had not seen McMillen since the previous night.
The magistrate today denied bail for Spicer, Benedetto and George, who are
all charged with accessory to murder after the fact and perverting the
course of justice.
Russell McMillen said he and his wife were relieved to learn that their
daughter's accused killer is going to stand trial.
"We have been there all the time. It's been difficult to listen to witnesses
describe how our daughter was killed and found in the water," Russell
McMillen said. "I think it was very important for us to be there to show
that we are interested in the case and want to see justice done."
The McMillens plan to return to Connecticut on Wednesday and back to Tortola
in October for the trial.
Spicer's sister, Christine Matthews of Watertown, N.Y., said she was waiting
by the telephone for hours for word on the ruling from Tortola. She paused
for several moments after a reporter delivered the news.
"I compeletely believe in Michael's innocence. I know that the three of them
know nothing about William's guilt because any of them would have broken
about his guilt to get out of there a long time ago,'' said Matthews, who
was also permitted inside the courtroom during several days of testimony.
Oscar Ramjeet, the Road Town attorney representing Spicer and George, said
prosecutors objected to his unsuccessful motion for bail, arguing that
neither has ties to Tortola and would be flight risks. He said the pair
looks forward to proving their innocence to a jury.
`"I am very confident because I think the evidence is not strong enough,"
said Ramjeet, who remains bound by a court order not to discuss that
evidence publicly.
Friends of McMillen expressed relief today that the case will go to trial,
saying the lack of public disclosure of evidence had them worried that
perhaps the case against the men was weak.
``It makes me feel a lot better now. Lois's murder was a great shock and was
really sad,'' said James Morris of Los Angeles, a former boyfriend who was
in almost daily contact with McMillen by e-mail prior to her death. "I don't
want to see anyone get railroaded if they're innocent and I wouldn't want to
see anyone guilty get off."
The owner of Bomba's Shack, a popular beachfront watering hole near the
McMillens' villa, said there is still great interest in the case on Tortola.
Charles ``Bomba'' Wellington Callwood Smith describes himself as a big
brother of the victim, whose elaborate costumes often drew unwanted
attention.
"Lois was a real good friend of mine,'' Smith said. "Whoever did it should
be brought to justice and it shouldn't be that they run wild."
A trial will be held in Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in October. Unlike
the pre-trial proceeding, the trial will be open to the public. No date was
set.
Senior Crown Counsel Terrance Williams refused to discuss what prosecutors
believe prompted the killing of McMillen, who was well-known on Tortola
because of her regular visits and flamboyant style of dress.
Jim Morris
McMillen murder update segment may air today (on Wednesday, August 16th).
Jim Morris <jdtm...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> The "EXTRA" national television program is broadcasting (today: Tuesday,
> August 15th, 2000) a follow-up segment on the McMillen murder case on
> Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (Caribbean). To find out what
channel
> "EXTRA" airs on in your local area (in the USA as "EXTRA" airs in the
> Caribbean as well), enter your zip code via the following Web site for
> "EXTRA":
>
> http://www.extratv.com
>
> The New York Post, New York Daily News, Hartford Courant (in Connecticut),
> Newsday (on Long Island, New York) and Richmond Times Dispatch newspapers
> all ran follow-up articles this past weekend. The Associated Press moved
an
> international wire article this past Friday (August 11th, 2000).
Additional
> articles are now linked at the following Web site:
>
> http://www.b-v-i.com/newslinks/
Jim Morris
http://www.b-v-i.com/newslinks/
N.Y. man charged in Tortola killing / Virginian 1 of 3 others implicated
Saturday, August 12, 2000
BY CARLOS SANTOS
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer
All four Americans charged in the January killing of 34-year-old Lois
McMillen will stand trial in a British Virgin Islands court, but only
William Labrador will be prosecuted for murder, a magistrate ruled
yesterday.
Sandra Ward, a spokeswoman for the British Virgin Islands government, said
evidence presented by 15 witnesses during a lengthy preliminary hearing led
Chief Magistrate Gail Charles to order that Labrador stand trial for the
killing.
Labrador, 36, who attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk in the early
1980s, is from Southampton, N.Y.
Michael Spicer, 36, an Albemarle County resident; Alexander Benedetto, 34,
of New York City; and Evan George, a construction worker from Washington,
will stand trial for being accessories after the fact and for "conspiring to
pervert the course of justice," Ward said. All four men initially had been
charged with McMillen's slaying.
The four have denied any involvement in her death.
Labrador faces life in prison if convicted of the homicide. The other three
men each face a maximum of 10 years in prison on the charge of being
accessories after the fact and five years on the charge of conspiring to
obstruct justice.
Charles placed a gag order on all attendees at the closed preliminary
hearing, so little is publicly known as to how the magistrate's findings
were reached. The hearing, which concluded Aug. 4, was held on the island of
Tortola, where McMillen was killed.
Ward would say only that "one key witness provided sufficient information to
commit" Labrador on the murder charge.
Charges against all four men are based on sworn testimony given at the
hearing. "There was no physical evidence presented at this level," Ward
said, though DNA evidence is expected to be presented at the October jury
trial.
The senior crown counsel prosecuting the case, Terrence Williams, could not
be reached for comment.
A request by Spicer, Benedetto and George to be freed on bail was denied
yesterday. All four men are being held in Her Majesty's Prison on Tortola.
Because of the murder charge against him, Labrador cannot seek bail.
McMillen, whose family had a villa on the island, was the daughter of a
wealthy Connecticut businessman.
McMillen, an activist for women's rights, artist and part-time model, was
killed around Jan. 14 after a vicious struggle. Her body was found draped
over erosion rocks by the shore of the Caribbean Sea. She had been beaten
but died from drowning.
The four Americans, all of whom knew McMillen, were arrested the day after
her body was discovered. The death, and the resultant international
publicity, shook the small island's peaceful community. Tortola is a tourist
mecca for many Americans.
Friends of Labrador described him as a clean-cut man with plenty of money
but no inclination to violence. Barbara Labrador, his mother, said her son
had just started a public relations firm to manage fashion models in New
York City when he was arrested.
In an affidavit, Labrador said he was only briefly acquainted with McMillen
and that the last time he saw her was Jan. 12, several days before she was
killed.
All four men were vacationing in Tortola, staying at Spicer's family villa,
which is near the McMillen villa. The McMillens and Spicers were acquainted.
Tortola police said in court papers that a blood-stained shirt had been
seized from Spicer's villa and that Spicer admitted to having worn the
shirt. But Spicer and his relatives said the alleged blood was only barbecue
sauce. A forensic analysis of the shirt is expected to be presented at the
trial.
Spicer, who graduated with a law degree from Georgetown University, has
lived just outside Charlottesville for the past eight years while taking
care of his mother.
