Connecticut investment banker allegedly killed hotel worker while on Caribbean vacation

By Michelle Boudin From People

Kenny Mitchel
Facebook

Gavin Hapgood, a 44-year-old UBS financial advisor, is charged with manslaughter

A Connecticut investment banker who was vacationing on the Caribbean island of Anguilla is accused of murdering a hotel worker.

Gavin Hapgood, a 44-year-old UBS financial advisor, is charged with manslaughter in the death of Kenny Mitchel. According to local newspaper The Anguillian, the death certificate shows that on April 14, the 27-year old father and hotel maintenance worker died from prone restraint, asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso.

Hapgood was initially denied bail but three days after the incident, he was released on $74,000 bond, angering many locals.

The Royal Anguilla Police Force responded to the outcry by posting a statement on Facebook reading, “We are not shrouding the case in mystery we are bound by rules and so are others on what can be said. We have charged a man in connection with the death of Mr. Mitchel. The court granted bail and we now prepare for the Court process and eventual trial.”

Hapgood’s Anguilla attorney tells PEOPLE he can’t comment on the case and Mitchel’s family members say they are too upset to talk.

A GoFundMe page set up for Mitchel — who also went by the nickname Mylez — says, “Here is what we know, Mylez was the maintenance man for the hotel.  For whatever reason Gavin Hapgood called the front desk of the hotel and it has been said from hotel sources, he asked for Mylez specifically to come to his room where he, his wife and three children were guests. Once inside that room, Mylez would never leave alive.”

A spokeswoman for UBS tells PEOPLE, “We are aware of the recent events in Anguilla and are following the situation closely. As you will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for us to provide any comment in relation to an active criminal proceeding.”

Hapgood is expected back in court in Anguilla on August 22.

Royal Anguilla Police Forceon Friday
The Royal Anguilla Police Force needs the publics support to solve crime and we need their support at this time.
We are not shrouding the case in mystery we are bound by rules and so are others on what can be said. We have charged a man in connection with the death of Mr Mitchell. The court granted bail and we now prepare for the Court process and eventual trial.
The temperature is high on this issue, some understanding of the criminal process may assist- arrest, charge, bail etc.
The standards that need to be met and what goes into the analysis at each stage.
The Police arrest, carry out the investigation to a defined investigative model, the case file building and charging if the evidence supports that a crime has been committed.
The Courts deal with bail and there is a presumption in favour of a grant of bail. At all times until convicted there is the presumption of innocence.
The Attorney General Chambers or Police Prosecutors put the police case before the courts and defence lawyers defend the accused.
There is also the need for High Court cases to avoid tainting a jury pool in a small society, hence the need for Police and Prosecution to be discrete in what they disclose to the public when matters arise.
It is in everybody’s interest that the authorities act within the law and that we seek justice for victims and those who are accused of crimes are dealt with fairly in all cases. Justice can only be served when a guilty man is convicted and an innocent man is not, and that is decided before the Court and were the rules of evidence and law preside and not in social media where there are no rules
Mr Paul Morrison 
Commissioner of Police 
Royal Anguilla Police Force

For more on this story go to: https://people.com/crime/connecticut-investment-banker-allegedly-killed-hotel-worker-caribbean-vacation/

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