Scott Hapgood case: 4 things we don’t know

Scott Hapgood, the 44-year-old UBS banker from Darien, has been accused of killing Anguillan hotel worker Kenny Mitchel.
Mitchel showed up at the Hapgood’s hotel room with a knife, demanding money, according to the Hapgood family’s account of the incident.

A fight ensued, and Mitchel died about an hour later. Hapgood was charged with manslaughter.

Hapgood, who returned to the United States after making bail in Anguilla, refused this month to return to the Caribbean Island for his latest court appearance and is now considered a fugitive.

Here are four things that remain unknown about the Hapgood case.

1. Will the U.S. protect Hapgood from extradition?

One day after Hapgood’s missed hearing, an arrest warrant was being sought in Anguilla and he was labeled a “fugitive.”

Hapgood has reportedly been threatened since returning to Connecticut, and the family said his life would be in danger it he returned to face authorities in Anguilla.

His defense team notified officials on the Caribbean island the night before that they advised their client to not return, Anguillan Attorney General Dwight Horsford said.

“The letter further stated that this advice rested on concerns for their client’s safety and the fairness of the judicial process in Anguilla,” Horsford wrote in a statement released Tuesday. “Both concerns are totally groundless.”

Anguilla, as a territory of Great Britain, is subject to an extradition treaty between the U.S, as the Washington Post reported, but it is not known yet if politicians will intervene to prevent Hapgood’s extradition.

In October, Hapgood’s wife, Kallie, appeared on Fox & Friends to ask President Donald Trump to intervene on her husband’s behalf.

“I’ve seen Trump help Americans around the globe and we really need his help,” Kallie Hapgood said on the show.

Trump responded on Twitter: “Something looks and sounds very wrong. I know Anguilla will want to see this case be properly and justly resolved!”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal was among about 100 people who gathered last month, rallying support for Hapgood outside of Darien Town Hall and, last week, Blumenthal and other federal lawmakers — including Sens. Chris Murphy and Lindsey Graham, and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes — sent a letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to express their concerns for Hapgood’s “safety and fair treatment.”

2. Why did hotel workers wait 45 minutes to call police?

According to the Hapgood family’s account, Mitchel and Hapgood fought in the family’s hotel room. Hapgood, once a football player in Darien, subdued and restrained the 27-year-old hotel worker.

It took 45 minutes for police to arrive.

Mitchel was later taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, but the reason for the delay is unknown.

Photos ostensibly taken immediately after the scuffle, shared by the Hapgood family, show the Connecticut banker with cuts and abrasions to his face.

3. Did Hapgood’s children give a statement to police?

Kallie Hapgood said she was not present when Mitchel came to the door, but that two of her children were present for the entire fight.

Hapgood was arrested and charged with manslaughter, which makes the children the only witnesses to the fight.

Were they interviewed by police? Hapgood did retain the services of an attorney on the Caribbean island, and it’s possible that his three children, being minors, were shielded from police interviews.

If they did provide statements to police, what they recalled has not been made public.

4. Did Hapgood and Mitchel cross paths before the fight?

Toxicology reports obtained by The New York Times showed that Mitchel had a significant amount of cocaine in his bloodstream, more than what is commonly considered a lethal dose.

That resulted in a revised autopsy report, suggesting Mitchel might have died from cocaine misuse instead of the trauma sustained during the fight as was initially reported by Anguillan medical officials.

Mitchel came to the Hapgoods’ hotel room wearing a hotel uniform, saying he was there to fix a broken sink, according to the family.

He then allegedly pulled a knife and demanded money.

Hapgood has said no sink was broken in their hotel room, so what drew Mitchel to the Hapgoods’ room is unknown.

Mitchel was a hotel employee, and it is unknown how Hapgood may have come to his attention before the incident.

Media reports suggested that the Hapgoods were one of only a few guests at the resort at the time.

I’m going through an experimental a.i. phase.

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One Response to Scott Hapgood case: 4 things we don’t know

  1. Anonymous says:

    1. Yes
    2. Because Kenny had a pending rape charge against him and they didn’t want to get the police involved. Also, they were looking to protect their extremely negligent employer who had an alleged rapist who did drugs on the job working for them.
    3. Yes
    4. No

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