Police say American woman, 71, raped on yacht by escaped convict in Caribbean before she and husband tossed overboard, killed

An American woman was raped by an escaped convict while she was sailing on her yacht in the Caribbean, according to police. The woman from Virginia and her husband are believed to have been killed after they were tossed overboard by the escaped fugitives last month.

A spokesperson for the Royal Grenada Police Force told the Daily Mail, "Atiba Stanisclaus was charged by the Grenadian police with one count of rape on Kathy Brandel."

The 25-year-old Stanisclaus, along with 30-year-old Ron Mitchell and 23-year-old Trevon Robertson, were charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Brandel and Ralph Hendry. The three murder suspects were also charged with escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery, and two counts of kidnapping.

As Blaze News previously reported, Brandel and Hendry were sailing their yacht on a "dream" boating voyage in the Caribbean.

The married couple of 27 years had anchored their yacht in Grenada's capital of St. George's.

The American couple's yacht, named the Simplicity, was located on Feb. 21 by authorities on the neighboring island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

There were no signs of Brandel or Hendry. However, law enforcement said the crime scene on the yacht was "consistent with signs of violence."

"The entire interior of the vessel and its decks were ransacked," the Coast Guard’s commanding officer reportedly wrote in an internal memo.

The couple's possessions were strewn everywhere on the vessel and blood was found throughout the boat, according to police.

Investigators believe the three murder suspects commandeered the yacht a day after they broke out of a prison in Grenada on Feb. 18.

Grenada police commissioner Don McKenzie said in a news conference that the escaped convicts "disposed of the occupants" while sailing the hijacked yacht between Grenada and St. Vincent.

The bodies of Brandel and Hendry have yet to be found.

The couple were experienced boaters and had been sailing for more than a decade.

Brandel's son — Nick Buro — told WRC-TV, "They were super careful to be safe all the time. Everywhere they went everything they did, safety was their top, top concern. So this unfortunate accident, I think, it came out of nowhere for them."

"This is something that is completely unexpected," Buro added. "And wrapping our brains around it and trying to understand a senseless act of violence against two people while they were just living their lives in their home, essentially, because Simplicity was their home. They didn't have another home.... And having that safety and security taken away from them abruptly and [having] them attacked ... where they live, it's just, it's unimaginable."

The suspects were originally arrested on robbery charges. Mitchell had also been charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape, and two counts of indecent assault and causing harm, according to Grenada police.

The three suspects are scheduled to appear in court on March 27.

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