UBS banker sued over Anguilan hotel worker's death
Scott Hapgood is charged with manslaughter for Kenny Mitchel's killing
The UBS banker and wanted fugitive charged in connection to the death of an Anguillan hotel worker was sued by the man's family weeks after he skipped a court hearing, records show.
Hapgood and his family have said the father of three was in their hotel room at the Malliouhana in the British Caribbean territory in April, when Mitchel, a 27-year-old maintenance man at the resort, showed up unannounced, demanded money and attacked them. Mitchel died after the struggle, and Hapgood was charged with manslaughter.
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Kenny Mitchel, 27.
A Hapgood family spokesperson declined to comment when reached by FOX Business on Friday, the day after the complaint was filed in federal court in Connecticut.
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The court papers were filed by Mitchel's estate through co-executors Emily Rebecca Garlick, the mother of Mitchel’s child, and Gerard Neville Mitchell, his father, and accuse Hapgood of committing intentional battery and negligence. The co-executors' attorney would not comment on the matter.
“Although [Mitchel] posed no risk to him, [Hapgood], without legal justification, intentionally and with reckless disregard for the safety of [Mitchel], continued to apply pressure to his neck and to punch and hit him for more than one-half hour,” the suit charges.
Scott Hapgood was wounded during an altercation with Kenny Mitchel.
The lawsuit seeks “all damages” incurred as a result of Mitchel’s life.
Mitchel had “a likely life expectancy of approximately 50 years” when he died and stopped receiving income, upon which his daughter and Garlick often relied. His father also “would likely have come to depend upon his son for income and support in his later years,” the suit states.
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The moments leading up to Mitchel’s death are the subject of an ongoing criminal case.
An autopsy showed Mitchel died of positional asphyxia and received blunt force injuries to his torso and other areas. Diaferia had previously said that a toxicology report was suppressed and that Mitchel was found to have had drugs, including cocaine, in his system.
Scott Hapgood, right and his lawyer Juliya Arbisman, left, hold a press conference, Aug. 20, 2019, (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
After Hapgood neglected to show up to a hearing in Anguilla in November, local authorities issued a warrant for his arrest him, according to a press release published by Anguilla’s attorney general.
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A spokesman previously said Hapgood decided against returning to the island for the hearing because he was worried about his safety and Anguilla officials did not provide assurances he would be allowed to remain free on bond.
In October, President Donald Trump tweeted that he would be "looking into" the case against Hapgood, as well as the island of Anguilla, and wrote: "Something looks and sounds very wrong."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.