[mary celeste] modern version with a twist

Unfortunately, the link for this story came from my e-mail provider and was lost in a power shutdown today. Still, it bears a resemblance to the Mary Celeste tale in some aspects and is of some interest.

October 14, 2007 [by Todd Lewin, maildotcom]:

Kirby Logan Archer, by the age of 35, had been described as a loner, a romantic, a sensitive son, a vindictive husband, a loving father, a gay man. He went AWOL four years ago from the military police, receiving an "other-than-honorable" discharge.

By the time a court had issued a warrant for his arrest for theft from his work, Archer had fled the state. His current wife described him in glowing terms, his former wife the opposite. He was at this time also the subject of a child molestation investigation and still is.

For nearly eight months, Archer lay low then surfaced in the Miami area, spending time with a 19-year-old Cuban immigrant with a weight lifter's torso and a close-cropped, dark beard: Guillermo Zarabozo, sociable, respectful, well-behaved, living with his mother, sister, stepfather and pet dog in a second-floor walkup.

But if Zarabozo got along so well with his neighbors, why did he install a video surveillance camera in the hall outside of his family's apartment? Archer and Zarabozo both spoke fluent Spanish and had lived in Cuba; both were fastidious, very attentive to their physiques, and well-trained in the use of handguns.

On a breezy Saturday, the last day of summer, both boarded the Joe Cool, a 47' sports cruiser, telling the first mate, Sammy Kairy,they wanted a ride to Bimini to meet up with a couple of lovely young ladies. It would be a one-way trip.

It was still the slow season for chartering. The vessel's owner, Jeff Branam, helped carry their luggage aboard next day for the trip, telling them the trip would set them back $4,000.

With little more than a nod, Archer pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket, peeled off 40 $100 notes, and held them out. Why didn't they just take a plane? Branam asked. A one-way ticket would cost $150, tops.

Haven't got my passport, Archer told him. Girlfriend packed it in her luggage and went on ahead. She's going to meet us at the dock. Branam took the money.

About 4:30 p.m. Saturday, under sunny skies, the Joe Cool sailed into the light chop of Biscayne Bay, on its first-ever charter to the Bahamas with the two passengers, the captain and his wife and the crew.

The Joe Cool was expected to return the following noon to prepare for a Monday charter. By 4 p.m. that Sunday, with no word from his nephew, Jeff Branam contacted the Coast Guard. Within two hours, the sport fisher was spotted, drifting 160 miles south of Bimini, on the Cay Sal Banks -- just a short sail from Cuba.

Coast Guard officers boarded the vessel, finding it "in disarray." Investigators discovered six marijuana cigarettes, a cellular telephone, luggage, cameras, a laptop computer, Zarabozo's Florida ID card, a small key, four spent shell casings -- and blood in the stern and cabin. The boat's navigational equipment and electronics had been left untouched, along with some expensive fishing gear. But they found no life raft, no guns, no bullets or slugs.

And no bodies.

The boat's Global Positioning System indicated the Joe Cool had started off heading due east toward Bimini. Then, halfway to its destination, it had veered 190 degrees south. Why the drastic change in course, which pointed straight toward Cuba?

Two cutters, a C-130 plane, a P-3 Orion patrol plane and helicopters swept the Gulf Stream, searching more than 10,000 square miles. On foot, searchers checked out dozens of small, uninhabited cays.

Still they found no crew.

They did, however, spot a life raft, drifting northward with the Gulf Stream current. In it were Archer and Zarabozo, with a supply of water, their luggage, a blow gun, darts, several knives, and 22 $100 bills.

During the trip back, Zarabozo told investigators that pirates had hijacked the Joe Cool. They shot the captain dead and then killed his wife the same way "because she was hysterical." The hijackers then ordered the remaining crew to throw the bodies overboard, shooting them, too, when they refused, he said.

When the pirates told him to dump the bodies, Zarabozo said he complied and, at gunpoint, cleaned the boat. Then, he claimed, the invaders commandeered the vessel and sailed it south until it ran out of fuel. Ultimately, a third boat picked up the hijackers, who spared the two of them.

Except:

--No radio transmissions or maydays had come from the boat. There was a "distress" button on the VHF radio, which, when pressed, would send the Coast Guard the sport fisher's position.

--Four spent shell casings had stamps matching ammunition purchased by Zarabozo in February.

--There were no scratches or marks on the Joe Cool's hull, typically left by a boarding vessel.

--Though Archer and Zarabozo say they were going to rendezvous with girlfriends on Bimini, no women have come forward.

--Although the survivors told investigators the killings occurred on the boat's exterior deck, human blood and three of the four shell casings were found inside, in the main cabin.

--Cuba, just beyond where the men were picked up, has no extradition treaty with the U.S.; that fact led Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Tsai to say in court that Archer and Zarabozo were attempting "a one-way trip out of the country."

Still, without a murder weapon, a confession, bodies, bullets -- or any witnesses beyond the accused -- proving that Archer and Zarabozo plotted and committed first-degree murder won't be easy, veteran defense lawyers say.

This is not the Joe Cool but I imagine the fishing boat, at those prices and with those passengers, would have looked much different to the one below.