The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Trump says he’ll look into Hapgood case
President says something ‘wrong’ about Darien man’s manslaughter trial in Anguilla
President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he would be “looking into the case of Scott Hapgood, accused of killing a handyman at an Anguilla resort.
“Will be looking into the Scott Hapgood case, and the Island of Anguilla,” Trump said on Twitter. “Something looks and sounds very wrong. I know Anguilla will want to see this case be properly and justly resolved!”
Hapgood, 44, has been charged with manslaughter in the death of 27yearold Kenny Mitchel. He’s due back in court in Anguilla on Nov. 11.
Hapgood’s story was covered Monday on Fox & Friends and Trump mentioned the show’s hosts in his tweet.
Hapgood’s wife, Kallie, appeared on the show.
“I’ve seen Trump help Americans around the globe and we really need his help,” Kallie Hapgood said on the show.
After Trump tweeted about the case, Kallie Hapgood said they have not heard from the president yet but are "so thrilled" to see him take an interest in their story.
According to the family, Mitchel came to the family’s hotel room at the Moulihanna Resort in Anguilla, purportedly to fix a broken sink.
Hapgood contended the sink was never broken and that no one called for someone to come to their room, but he trusted Mitchel because he was wearing a hotel uniform. The family said Mitchel then pulled a knife, resulting in Hapgood “fighting for his life.”
Mitchel reportedly died an hour later.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said later Monday that he had “worked over the past year” with both the U.S. State Department and the Hapgoods’ legal team “seeking fair and safe treatment in these foreign legal proceedings.”
“I’ll continue these efforts to assure a just outcome as swiftly as possible w/o unnecessary burden to him & his family,” Blumenthal said on Twitter.
A recent petition, seeking 4,500 signatures by Oct. 21 to support Hapgood obtained more than 4,400 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
“Our friend Scott Hapgood is fighting for his life. He's due back in Anguilla on November 11th, but there is no guarantee of a safe return (or a return at all),” the petition says.
Hapgood has been the subject of threats since he was allowed to leave Anguilla after making bail.
“He has a target on his back,” the petition says.
Kallie Hapgood, speaking with the New York Post, said she and her husband are at odds over whether he should return to Anguilla.
“I have begged him from day one not to go back there, and I still don’t want him to go back there, but he needs to make his own decisions, and he feels strongly about clearing his name,” Kallie Hapgood told the Post. “He knows he did nothing wrong. He’s not responsible for Mitchel’s death, but to me, I don’t know if that is enough to keep him safe. If he were to be remanded to prison, I think it would be the equivalent of a death sentence.”
Hapgood, spoke publicly about the incident during a press conference in New York City. After a court appearance in August, he released a statement calling the situation a “nightmare.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to appear in Anguillan courts today because every court appearance means we are one step closer to putting this nightmare behind us — a nightmare for my family but also for the people of Anguilla,” he said.
That same day, Marshal Mitchel, the halfbrother of Kenny Mitchel, told a group of reporters on the courthouse steps in Anguilla that the family wants justice.
“As long as he (gets) jail, justice is served,” Marshall Mitchel said, according to the New York Post. “He (Hapgood) had enough time to let go of my brother. He needs to understand he (took) a life.”
“We came to your beautiful island for a vacation, just like many thousands of others do each year. We came here because of how welcoming you all are. Unfortunately, my family and I were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and in an instant, a tragedy resulted that has changed our lives and yours forever.”
On leave from his job as a UBS trader, Hapgood has been accused of killing the hotel worker in April during a violent struggle while on vacationing in the Caribbean.
The New York Times reported earlier this month that a revised autopsy report showed that Mitchel died from a lethal dose of cocaine, and not from injuries sustained during the fight.