WEST MAN KILLED WIFE
ABRITISH sailor who reported his new wife missing from their sinking catamaran off the coast of Cuba has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter.
Lewis Bennett, of Poole in Dorset, admitted involuntary manslaughter at a change of plea hearing in Miami, Florida, on Monday, following the death of Isabella Hellmann in 2017.
Bennett entered the plea after US prosecutors reduced a charge of murder for the 41-year-old to one of unlawful killing without malice.
Attorney Fajardo Orshan said: “Although nothing can ever erase the pain and suffering caused by Lewis Bennett’s criminal acts, the US Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners hope that the defendant’s admission of guilt is a step toward justice for the victim, Ms Isabella Hellmann, and her family.”
The couple – who married three months earlier – started their expedition in St Maarten in April 2017, before sailing the catamaran Surf Into Summer to Puerto Rico and Cuba. They then left for their home in Delray Beach, Florida.
According to court documents, experienced sailor Bennett was awoken on May 15, 2017, when he heard a loud noise while resting in their cabin.
He said he climbed to the exterior of the boat and observed that the sails and rigging were loose, the helm of the vessel was unmanned, and his wife – who had limited emergency sailing procedure knowledge – was not there.
Investigators also discovered that Bennett was smuggling rare coins during his rescue, which they alleged could have been a further motive to kill her.
Bennett had reported the coins, worth nearly £30,000, as being stolen from a former employer in St Maarten a year earlier. He admitted transporting the coins and is currently serving a seven-month jail sentence.
Bennett faces a maximum eight-year prison term when he is sentenced next year.