3 Americans Acquitted in Caribbean Murder
May 3 -- More than a year after her gruesome death on a Caribbean beach, three of the four American men charged with killing a Connecticut artist were acquitted of murder charges today.
The fourth man, a New York financial adviser, continues to stand trial for the murder of 34-year-old Lois Livingstone McMillen, who was beaten to death last January in Tortola, one of the main islands that comprise the British Virgin Islands.
Judge Kenneth Benjamin of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court today approved three of the defense's motions to dismiss charges for lack of evidence, releasing Alexander Benedetto, 35, Michael Spicer, 37, and Evan George, 23.
However, William Labrador, 37, from Southampton, N.Y., continues to face murder charges.
Labrador's lawyers have reportedly begun working on a defense case this afternoon.
All four men have been held in police custody since Jan. 15, 2000, when witnesses discovered McMillen's battered body on a Tortola beach.
A High Profile Trial
The "murder in paradise" case has rocked the idyllic British Virgin Islands, where a number of affluent Americans own holiday homes.
Known as the "American four" among the locals, the suspects denied any involvement in McMillen's death.
McMillen's parents have owned a villa in Tortola villa for the past 20 years, during which time their daughter was a frequent visitor.
During one of her trips, she met Spicer, a Virginia law student whose mother owned a neighboring villa.
Labrador, Benedetto and George were Spicer's houseguests at the time of the crime. Benedetto, a New York City-based publisher, had a three-month relationship with McMillen in 1997. According to his affidavit, the relationship ended amicably.
During the trial, Jeffrey Plante, the prosecution's key witness, testified that Labrador confessed to the killing while the men were sharing a jail cell.
But Plante, a 59-year-old Texan, has been the subject of much controversy himself. A convicted swindler, he has been dubbed the "Snitch of Tortola" by the local press.
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