Oct 25, 2007 2:01 pm US/Eastern
Grand Jury Indicts Men In 'Ghost Ship' Murder Case
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A federal grand jury in Miami has handed up indictments against the two men accused of chartering a Miami Beach fishing vessel and killing its four crew members.
36-year old Kirby Archer and 20-yer old Guillermo Zarabozo were arraigned Thursday afternoon in federal court.
Prosecutors say Archer and Zarabozo have given conflicting statements about what exactly happened last month, how they met, when they decided to charter a boat and the attire of pirates they say are responsible for the killings.
Defense attorneys argue that the evidence against Zarabozo and Archer is thin and that their alleged inconsistent statements to investigators didn't add up to incriminating conduct.
"When you have an event as horrific as this that happened in the Joe Cool is expected to come up with different perceptions on what really happened," said Defense attorney, Alan Kaiser.
The two are being held without bond.
It is no easy case for prosecutors, with no bodies, no murder weapon, no witnesses and no confession. But they say the circumstantial evidence tells the story.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta announced that Zarabozo and Archer were charged with the first-degree murder in the deaths of the 'Joe Cool' captain, Jake Branam, his wife Kelley, and two other crew members. They are Branam's half-brother, Scott Gamble, and first mate Samuel Kairy. The Branams leave behind a 2-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son.
The murder charges were filed without bodies, guns, witnesses or confessions but prosecutors believe there is enough circumstantial evidence to prove that the crew of the 'Joe Cool' was killed at sea and their bodies dumped overboard by the two men.
U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta said, "it's unlikely we'll find the bodies of these four individuals who were murdered at sea."
The four disappeared at sea after Zarabozo and Archer paid $4-thousand to charter the "Joe Cool' to Bimini on September 22nd. The next day, the Coast Guard found the boat, abandoned and adrift 30 miles from Cuba.
The defendants were found in a life raft a few miles away. They claimed that pirate hijackers came aboard the 'Joe Cool' and killed the crew and threw their bodies overboard. They also claim a third boat picked up the hijackers who left the defendants in the life raft.
Acosta said their story is full of inconsistencies and each suspect gave different accounts about events that unfolded on the boat including what the hijackers were wearing, where the murders took place and even how they survived.
FBI investigators found four bullet casings on the boat from a 9mm Glock handgun. They also found receipts in Zarabozo's apartment for a Glock 9mm magazine and four boxes of 9mm bullets purchased from Lou's Gun Shop and Police Supply in Hialeah. The spent shell casings were the same size and brand purchased by Zarabozo.
Archer was originally being held for fleeing to avoid prosecution in Arkansas, where he allegedly stole $92,000 from the Wal-Mart where he worked until January.
Zarabozo, who lived in his mother's apartment in Hialeah, was being held on charges he lied to federal investigators when, under questioning, he failed to recognize the Joe Cool.
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