ABC News(NEW YORK) — The New York City banker who was charged in the death of an Anguillan hotel worker in April described his life as “a living nightmare” since he was charged with manslaughter.
Connecticut resident Scott Hapgood, 44, was allegedly with his two daughters in a room at the Malliouhana Resort on April 13 when a man dressed in a hotel uniform knocked on the door “minutes” after the girls “walked back to the hotel room on their own,” according to a statement released by the family in May.
The man, identified by Anguilla police as hotel maintenance worker Kenny Mitchel, allegedly stated that he was there to fix a broken sink before he came inside and demanded money from Hapgood, the family said. A scuffle that ensued, which the family said Hapgood was “fighting for his life,” was broken up when he was restrained by a security guard, according to the family.
Hapgood was then taken to the hospital, and he later learned that Mitchel had died when he was giving a witness statement at the police station, the family said.
On Tuesday, Hapgood and his international defense attorney, Juliya Arbisman, held a press conferences to express the injustice they felt was taking place as a result of Hapgood’s bail conditions, which require him to attend procedural court hearings in Aguilla three times in one week.
Although they traveled to Anguilla on Monday, the pair will be required to travel back to the island on Thursday, even though the Anguillan attorney general will be requesting an adjournment to the case during that hearing, according to Arbisman.
A request for Hapgood to make his appearance by video was denied by the attorney general “without explanation,” and he cannot stay on the island for the duration of the hearings because of security threats, Arbisman said.
“We were advised, in the context of a security warning by the police authorities, that the less time he spends in Anguilla the better,” she said, describing the attorney general’s decision as “cruel and unreasonable.”
Hapgood promised to “fully comply with the requirements of the court.”
Arbisman also accused prosecutors from withholding a toxicology report for more than two months that allegedly “showed Mr. Kenny Mitchel was not only drunk, with a blood alcohol level that is double the legal limit in the U.S., but also high on cocaine and other drugs when he attacked Scott.”
ABC News could not get confirmation from officials in Anguilla about the claims from Arbisman regarding the results of Mitchel’s toxicology report.
“During those months that the report has been withheld, the AG has allowed a portrait of Mr. Mitchell to persist in the media that is at odds with what we now know to be true,” Arbisman said. “I worry about Scott’s ability to get a fair trial when relevant information is withheld and a persistent narrative has been given to potential jurors, the people of Anguilla, which is based on falsehoods and admissions.”
Hapgood and Arbisman declined to further discuss what occurred prior to Mitchell’s death.
Hapgood, an account manager at UBS Global Asset Management, has been on administrative leave since the incident, he said, saying that he and his family “have been living a nightmare” and “hanging on by a thread” ever since their trip to Anguilla.
He also described the experience as “terrifying” for his daughters, who are 12 and 14 years old. He and his family were victims, Hapwood said, adding that “the truth will come out.”
“We have a long road ahead of us, but I’m looking forward to someday getting back to the life we once had,” he said.
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