Sep 14, 2008 11:02 pm US/Eastern
Jury Selection To Begin In "Joe Cool" Murder Case
Guillermo Zarabozo Will Face Trial September 22nd
MIAMI (CBS News) ―
-
-
Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of Guillermo Zarabozo who is accused of taking part in the murders of a charter boat's captain and crew.
CBS4
-
-
The Joe Cool, a miami-based charter boat found adrift off the coast fo Cuba 9/24, towed in 9/25/07. The crew ius missing, two passengers alive.
A case of murder on the high seas is about to be played out in a Miami Dade courtroom as jury selection gets underway Monday for the trial of one of two men accused of killing the captain and crew of the Miami charter boat
Joe Cool.
Guillermo Zarabozo, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the murders of captain Jake Branam, his wife Kelly, and crew members Scott Gamble and Samuel Kairy. He blames the murders entirely on his co-defendant Kirby Archer, 36, who accepted a plea deal from prosecutors earlier this in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.
The two men originally hired the
Joe Cool to go to the Bahamas, and then tried to divert it to Cuba. When the crew refused, they were shot, killed and dumped overboard. The bodies were never recovered.
In his plea, Archer admitted to participating in the murders of the Joe Cool crew. He said he shot and killed the Branams, but it was Zarabozo who killed Gamble and Kairy. In exchange for pleading guilty he would not face a death penalty. Archer will be sentenced October, 2nd.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Paul Huck ruled that lie detector test results for Zarabozo would not be admissible at trial. The ruling was a blow to Zarabozo's defense attorneys who said the results would back up their client's claim that he did not kill anyone.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Double Homicide In NW Miami-Dade
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
