Bruce Beresford-Redman

On April 8, 2010, Beresford-Redman's wife Mónica was found dead while they were on holiday in Cancun, Mexico. Mónica had been strangled and her body dumped in a sewer nearby the Moon Palace resort where the family had been staying.[2][3][4][5]

Later on the day of the murder, Beresford-Redman was detained and questioned by police as a person of interest in his wife's death. He was released by police during the early morning hours of April 8 on condition that he not leave Mexico while the investigation into his wife's death remained ongoing.

Two young British tourists staying at the hotel reported that they heard the couple arguing in their room on April 4. Beresford-Redman was also reportedly seen with scratches on his hands and the back of his neck.[6]

Mónica's cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. Since his passport had been retained by the Mexican government when he was arrested, Beresford-Redman illegally left Mexico by crossing the border using his driver's license as identification and taking a train to Los Angeles. [7]

On May 31, 2010, Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Beresford-Redman in connection with the murder of his wife while Mexican prosecutors initiated extradition proceedings to return Beresford-Redman back to Mexico to be tried.[7]

On November 16, 2010, CNN reported that Beresford-Redman had been arrested by U.S. marshals in Los Angeles using a warrant from Mexico.[8] On November 29, 2010, a Los Angeles federal judge denied Beresford-Redman's request for bail.

On July 12, 2011, US magistrate Jacqueline Chooljian determined that Beresford-Redman should be sent to Mexico because there was enough circumstantial evidence to show probable cause he might have murdered his wife. US prosecutors had reviewed the case made by Mexican authorities and deemed sufficient evidence to show possible motives for Beresford-Redman to have killed his wife including: collecting insurance money; getting sole custody of their children; and continuing an extramarital affair.[9]

Beresford-Redman waived further appeals and was extradited to Mexico on February 8, 2012.[10] A judge found sufficient evidence that Beresford-Redman murdered his wife and on February 15 2012 ordered that he remain in custody pending adjudication.[11]

On March 12 2015, Beresford-Redman was convicted of murdering his wife, and sentenced to 12 years in prison by Judge Víctor Manuel Echeverría Tun. Beresford-Redman has appealed. The prosecution considered the sentence to be unduly lenient, and left open the possibility of also appealing.[12]

From November 2014, Beresford-Redman was incarcerated in a jail in Cancún before and after sentencing. Other witnesses either did not appear or supported the defense.[13]

In a video diary made during his confinement, Beresford-Redman had claimed that much of the evidence against him was reportedly contaminated in police custody, and minute amounts of blood in the hotel room where the family stayed did not belong to Mónica Beresford-Redman per DNA testing.[12]

As of September 2015, he has not seen his children in almost four years.[12][14]

Beresford-Redman was released from prison in September 2019 after serving 4 years out of 12.[15]