Beresford-Redman Due In Court Tuesday
LOS ANGELES (AP) —A reality TV producer suspected of killing his wife in Mexico is due in a Los Angeles court Wednesday for the first hearing in what is expected to be a long fight over his extradition.
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KNX 1070's Jon Baird Reports From Beresford-Redman's Rancho Palos Verdes Home
Federal authorities arrested Bruce Beresford-Redman on Tuesday, more than seven months after his wife Monica's body was found at an upscale Cancun resort.
Mexican authorities want him returned to stand trial on an aggravated homicide charge, although Beresford-Redman has previously indicated through his attorney that he plans to fight extradition.
The family of Monica Beresford-Redman is also expecting a lengthy fight, and their attorney said they are prepared for more months of legal wrangling.
"They know that this is not the end in their quest for justice for their sister Monica and are prepared to pursue this horrific tragedy to the end," attorney Alison Triessl said in a statement.
Without elaborating, Bruce Beresford-Redman's attorney said in a statement Tuesday evening that he believed the former "Survivor" producer was innocent and should not be returned to Mexico.
"Based upon our investigation, he is an innocent man being wrongfully accused by a foreign government," attorney Richard G. Hirsch wrote. "We hope that after full consideration of both sides, a federal court will decide not to extradite him."
An 11-page complaint unsealed after Tuesday's arrest describes a contentious series of events that led to Monica Beresford-Redman's death, including heated fights at a swank Cancun resort where her body was later found in a sewer.
The complaint states she discovered her husband was having an affair before the trip and had been seeking a divorce; her sisters have said the couple traveled to Mexico in an attempt to reconcile.
Hotel workers and guests described seeing and hearing the couple fighting, according to the complaint.
Hotel key logs showed someone entering and leaving the room numerous times in the early morning after one fight that rattled guests in a neighboring room, the filing states. It notes the sewer where Monica Beresford-Redman's body was eventually found could be seen from the couple's hotel room, which they shared with their young children.
The complaint states a forensic expert who examined the couple's hotel room found traces of blood on sheets and a pillar and balcony railing in the room.
It also includes a statement from an acquaintance of Bruce Beresford-Redman who received a call from the producer while his wife was considered missing. The man, who hadn't spoken to the producer in a year, told authorities it sounded as if Bruce Beresford-Redman "was reading from a script" when he told him his wife was missing.
Monica Beresford-Redman's sister, Jeane Burgos, said in a sworn statement that her sister told her about six weeks before she was killed that Bruce Beresford-Redman was having an affair, according to the complaint.
Monica Beresford-Redman confronted her husband and he apologized, but when she learned he still had contact with the mistress, she asked for a divorce, according to the complaint.
Burgos said her sister had the locks on the couple's home changed before the vacation, and told their children's schools her husband should not be allowed to pick them up.
The complaint states Bruce Beresford-Redman admitted the affair in e-mails, which were reviewed by authorities.
The producer, whose is also credited as a co-creator of "Pimp My Ride," somehow was able to leave Mexico before authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in May. He has appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom several times to deal with custody issues related to his daughter and son, and on issues related to his wife's estate.
Bruce Beresford-Redman's parents were granted permanent guardianship of the couple's 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son last week, after a settlement with two of the children's aunts.
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