Charges Expected In Fishing Boat Murders
Men Who Chartered "Joe Cool" In Miami Now Accused Of Killing Crew; Could Face Death Penalty
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The charter boat "Joe Cool" is docked at the U.S. Coast Guard station as the FBI continues to investigate what happened to four members of the crew Sept. 26, 2007, in Miami. (GETTY)
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The missing crew of the "Joe Cool," include, clockwise from top left, Jake Branam, 27; his wife Kelley Branam, 30; his half-brother Scott Gamble, 30; and Samuel Kairy, 27. The two men who hired the vessel -- one a fugitive robbery suspect -- are in custody facing federal charges. (The Early Show)
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In this courtroom sketch, Kirby Logan Archer, 35, of Strawberry, Ark., left, and Guillermo Zarabozo, 19, of Hialeah, Fla., appear in federal court in Miami on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007. The men were picked up in a life raft after hiring a charter boat to take them to the Bahamas. The four crew members are missing. Archer is a fugitive robbery suspect and was charged with fleeing prosecution in Arkansas, and Zarabozo was charged with lying to federal agents. (AP Photo/Shirley Henderson)
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Play CBS Video Video Miami Beach Mystery The coast guard has arrested two men in connection with the mysterious disappearance of the crew of a chartered fishing boat off the coast of south Florida. Kelly Cobiella reports.
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The charges were expected to be filed against Kirby Logan Archer, 35, and Guillermo Zarabozo, 19, according to two federal law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the charging documents had not yet been filed.
The four people disappeared after Archer and Zarabozo chartered the "Joe Cool" fishing boat last month purportedly for a pleasure trip to Bimini, Bahamas. Both Archer and Zarabozo, who are in custody, could get the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
According to investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, evidence found from the processing of weapons and bullet casings, led to the increased charges to be filed Wednesday afternoon, reports CBS 4 in Miami.
Attorneys for Archer and Zarabozo did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. A hearing is scheduled Thursday in federal court for both men.
The two men were found floating in the boat's life raft near Cuba with no sign of the captain and crew.
Zarabozo initially claimed that a group of pirates had attacked them at sea and fatally shot the crew. Their bodies have never been found, but investigators recovered four shell casings and blood from the boat.
The boat started out on course for Bimini on Sept. 22 but then turned sharply south and was found abandoned and out of fuel north of Cuba, officials have said. Investigators say the two might have been attempting to reach Cuba.
Zarabozo, of Hialeah, is now being held on charges of lying to a federal agent for claiming he had never been aboard the "Joe Cool." Archer is in custody as a fugitive from Arkansas charged with stealing more than $92,000 from a Wal-Mart where he had been a manager.
The four missing people are the boat's captain, Jake Branam, 27; his wife Kelley Branam, 30; his half-brother Scott Gamble, 30; and Samuel Kairy, 27. All are from Miami Beach.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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