SAILING CASE
A BRIT sailor accused of murdering his wife on their Caribbean honeymoon has broken his jail silence – and triggered an angry backlash from her family.
Lewis Bennett is holed up in a Florida prison, suspected of killing Isabella Hellmann and then scuttling their 37ft catamaran to make it look like an accident.
The mining engineer, 41, has told a penpal he feels “extremely isolated” and adds: “I think about my wife and daughter every waking moment and wish we could be together again soon.
“She (Isabella) was such a positive person and always encouraged me to focus on the ‘now’ and to enjoy each and every moment.
“I try to take her advice but the here and now for me at this moment is difficult to appreciate.
“Saying that, there are some truly good people here who have helped my state of mind, so I am grateful for that. My sole motivation is my family and the thought of being together with them all again.”
He goes on to reveal details of life as prisoner 16483-104 in Miami’s Federal Detention Centre, where he is being held over a stolen coins fraud. He is yet to enter a plea on the murder charge.
But his letter drew a furious response from Colombian-born Isabella’s relatives, who claim he is thwarting their attempts to see the couple’s 18-month-old daughter Emelia.
UPSETTING
The tot’s aunt, Adriana DiFeo, dismisses Bennett’s letter and accuses him of shunning Isabella’s family.
Emelia is being cared for by Bennett’s mum Sheila, 78, and dad Tom, 80, at their home in Hythe, near Southampton.
Adriana said from Florida: “It comes as a shock that he is talking to other people from jail.
“This is very surprising and upsetting to us.
“He says he wants to reunite with us and that is definitely not true.
“We have been trying to get in contact with Lewis through our lawyer but have not heard anything.
“We have also tried to contact his sister in England so we can arrange to see my niece, as she is our main concern.
“But his sister keeps saying she has to check with Lewis and we never hear back.
We last reached out to her three weeks ago and she gave us the same response. It is terrible, we are just stuck in limbo.
“We want to fly to England to see Emilia but Lewis’s family don’t want anything to do with us.”
Estate agent Isabella, 41, vanished after the luxury yacht Surf Into Summer sank near the Bahamas last May.
Bennett, from Poole, Dorset, claimed the boat hit a mystery object in shark-infested waters. But the FBI
claims he sabotaged the boat after killing Isabella to drain her bank account and inherit her beachside flat in Florida.
They had been married only three months and excited Isabella had told friends the week-long trip was a belated honeymoon.
“Caribbean, here I come,” she posted on Facebook as they started the trip, before adding “another day in paradise” as they visited Puerto Rico.
But Bennett made an urgent call to US coastguards claiming she had been swept overboard as he slept below deck.
When rescuers arrived he was floating on a liferaft with luggage and other possessions as the yacht took on water.
Experts who scoured images of the vessel taken by coastguards as it sank concluded two holes in both hulls