New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
2 years since altercation, Hapgood’s case stalls
Considered a fugitive, Darien man awaits magistrate’s report on manslaughter charge in Anguilla
After the missed court appearance, Anguillian authorities threatened to have Hapgood arrested and extradited back to the Caribbean, but no action has been taken.
DARIEN — A case that drew international attention, outrage on a Caribbean island and even piqued the interest of former President Donald Trump, has gone silent.
Tuesday will mark two years since Darien investment banker Scott Hapgood was involved in a deadly altercation with a hotel worker while vacationing with his family in Anguilla.
The 27-year-old hotel worker, Kenny Mitchel, was killed during the incident. Hapgood was charged with manslaughter and has been considered a “fugitive from justice” since skipping a court hearing in November 2019.
The criminal and civil lawsuits associated with the incident have stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesman for the Hapgoods declined to comment and said the family did not want to be interviewed. An attorney representing the mother of Mitchel’s child also declined to comment.
Claiming he fears for his life, Hapgood has refused to return to the British island. After the missed court appearance, Anguillian authorities threatened to have Hapgood arrested and extradited back to the Caribbean, but no action has been taken.
At the direction of a higher judge, a magistrate is conducting an inquiry into whether the prosecution should continue without Hapgood present for court hearings.
Hapgood’s appeal of the higher judge’s ruling was denied.
What happens next will depend on the magistrate’s
investigation, and it remains unknown when that will be completed.
Hapgood, 46, contends that Mitchel unexpectedly showed up at his family’s room at the Malliouhana Resort on April 13, 2019, to fix a sink that wasn’t reported broken. Hapgood had been at the resort vacationing with his family, including his three children, two
of whom were in the room when Mitchel arrived.
Mitchel was an employee of the resort and was wearing a hotel uniform when he showed up at the room, according to Hapgood’s attorneys.
In a lawsuit filed against the resort, Hapgood contends Mitchel pulled out a knife, demanded money and attacked him. The lawsuit
claims Hapgood acted in self-defense when he fought with Mitchel. Hapgood restrained Mitchel for nearly an hour as resort officials failed to immediately call police or an ambulance, the lawsuit claimed.
Mitchel’s estate has filed its own lawsuit against Hapgood, claiming the former UBS banker kept his arm on the younger man’s
neck for more than 40 minutes. The findings were supported by an autopsy, which said Mitchel died of prone restraint, positional asphyxia and blunt-force trauma to the head, neck and torso.
However, a toxicology report later found Mitchel had a lethal amount of cocaine in his system. That finding is mentioned in
Hapgood’s lawsuit against the resort.
No official police reports on the struggle have been released.
Hapgood has denied nearly all of the allegations contained in the lawsuit filed by Mitchel’s estate and wants the civil action dismissed and a variety of damages and his legal fees paid by the younger man’s family.
The incident sparked international outrage and has been the focal point of speculation on what happened in Hapgood’s hotel room leading up to Mitchel’s death.
Anguillians have protested Hapgood’s release from jail and return to the U.S., while the Darien man said he and his family have received death threats.
The case caught Trump’s attention when Hapgood’s wife, Kallie, appeared on
Fox & Friends in October 2019.
“Will be looking into the Scott Hapgood case, and the Island of Anguilla,” Trump tweeted that day. “Something looks and sounds very wrong. I know Anguilla will want to see this case be properly and justly resolved!”