Scott Hapgood, 44, is returning to the Caribbean on Monday to face court on manslaughter charges over the death of Kenny Mitchel back in April.
The UBS financial adviser, who was on vacation with his wife and children, claims he was acting in self-defense when the hotel worker stormed into their hotel room armed with a knife.
Hapgood claims Mitchel threatened his two daughters, demanded money and then attacked him.
His mother-in-law Darcy Buehler told KWCH12 that the entire ordeal had been a ‘seven-month nightmare’
An autopsy found that the hotel worker had twice the potentially lethal level of cocaine in his system at the time.
Hapgood was released on bail and was allowed to return to the U.S. pending his trial.
Ahead of his upcoming court hearing in Anguilla, Hapgood and his family had tried to secure a deal that would guarantee his return to the U.S.
Several senators, including Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, had signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week asking him to ensure Hapgood’s safety.
Hapgood, who has returned to Anguilla for several court appearance, claims he has received death threats from people on the island since he was charged.
His mother-in-law Darcy Buehler told KWCH12 that the entire ordeal had been a ‘seven-month nightmare’.
‘I’m very hopeful that we will get some sort of guarantee he will return,’ she said last week.
‘What we’re most afraid of is that they will decide to remand him to prison meaning he will be stuck on the island.
‘He knows he’s innocent and he wants to clear his name.’
Hapgood has claimed that Mitchel stormed into their hotel room on April 13 saying he needed to fix a sink that wasn’t broken.
‘We were excited for our first family vacation abroad in the beautiful and tranquil Caribbean island of Anguilla,’ the family said in a statement soon after the incident.
‘But with a single knock at the door, our dream vacation turned into a chilling nightmare – a literal fight to survive.’
Hapgood’s wife Kallie spoke out for the first time last month, telling the New York Post that she had begged her husband not to return to Anguilla for future court dates over fears they would hold him there.
‘I have begged him from day one not to go back there, and I still don’t want him to go back there, but he needs to make his own decisions, and he feels strongly about clearing his name,’ Kallie said.
‘He knows he did nothing wrong. He’s not responsible for Mitchel’s death, but to me, I don’t know if that is enough to keep him safe. If he were to be remanded to prison, I think it would be the equivalent of a death sentence.’
Kallie revealed that her family had been tormented with death threats from the victim’s supporters on the island.
