Boy killed in boat accident, as his father faces charges

An 11yearold boy was killed in a boating accident near Angel Island, and his father was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, officials said.

The 11yearold boy and his 27yearold brother were ejected from a private boat driven by their father, Javier A. Burillo of Belvedere around 7 p.m. Sunday in open bay waters, according to Tiburon police. Police believe Burillo was intoxicated.

Burillo, a wealthy and prominent Mexican developer, was released Monday afternoon after posting $1 million bail.

The boy and his brother were hit by the boat as Burillo tried to pull them from the water, the Marin County Sheriff ’s Office reported, and the child sustained fatal injuries. The county coroner is not releasing the boy’s name due to his age.

The brothers were pulled aboard the boat and taken to the Corinthian Yacht Club in Belvedere, where the boy was pronounced dead at the dock. The older brother was taken to the hospital with lacerations to his leg, police said. Burillo made a

distress call to alert authorities.

The boat, which was seized by police, was a 33foot Protector Targa, a speedboat with an outboard motor. It is unclear what at speed Burillo was driving.

The father and his two sons were the only people aboard the boat, police said. They were out for fun, and had come from San Francisco and were heading back toward the yacht club where Burillo kept his boat.

Police said the waters are often unpredictable and waves can be significant, but it is not clear what caused the two to be thrown from the boat.

“It’s a beautiful environment, and this was an unusual, horrifying tragedy,” Chief Michael Cronin of the Tiburon Police Department said.

Cronin said Burillo is “quite well known” in the community. This is the first potential criminal death in 10 years in the small town, he said.

Burillo is a wealthy developer of luxury resorts and restaurants in Mexico, and a member of one of that nation’s wealthiest families, according to online and media reports. Property records show his full name is Javier Burillo Azcarraga.

Burillo is griefstricken but cooperating with the investigation, Cronin said.

Tiburon police contacted Burillo at his residence adjacent to the yacht club and arrested him on probable cause for intoxication, Cronin said.

“We have a duty, we are sworn to enforce the law,” Cronin said. “And that’s what we did — as painful as that sometimes is.”

Burillo’s 6,127square foot home sits on the tip of a peninsula on Bellevue Avenue overlooking stunning views of the bay below. It last sold for $2.3 million in 1998, according to Zillow, which estimates its value to be more than $7 million now.

On Monday afternoon, investigators were gathered behind the gate on the patio and said no family members would comment. Two neighbors who did not give their names said the Burillos are a wonderful family.

“Having a boat right here in the harbor, you get to know everybody,” said another man near the yacht club who had heard of Burillo but never met him.

A neighbor working in his open garage next to Corinthian said he saw the boat come racing into the harbor. The older son was carried away on a stretcher, and crews in yellow jackets worked until midnight at the scene.

No formal charges have been filed, but Burillo was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter during operation of a vessel, willful harm or injury to a child, and reckless or negligent operation of a vessel.

Tiburon police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Marin County Sheriff ’s Office are conducting a joint investigation.

Burillo’s defense attorney, Doug Horngrad, said his client is innocent and grieving.

“There’s nothing the state can do that would punish him more than he’s punishing himself already,” Horngrad said. “I expect no charges will be filed in this young man’s death. This was a tragic, horrible accident.”