LOS ANGELES (CN) - Mexican authorities can extradite the former "Survivor" producer accused of killing his wife during a family vacation in Cancun, a federal judge ruled.
Bruce Ainsley Beresford-Redman was charged with the aggravated homicide of Monica Burgos Beresford-Redman. Her naked body was found in the sewage area of a Cancun hotel where the couple had been staying with their daughter and son, then aged 3 and 5, in early April 2010.
Prosecutors say Beresford-Redman proposed the trip to celebrate his wife's birthday and to mend their marriage, which was on the rocks because Monica had caught her husband having an affair with a colleague and kicked him out of their house.
The family arrived at the Hotel Resort Moon Palace Nizuc on March 31. Beresford-Redman reported on April 6 that his wife had gone missing.
When he made the report, Beresford-Redman had scratch marks on his ear, neck, fingers and leg, and it "can be inferred these bodily injuries were caused during a fight," court documents state.
One day earlier, he had placed a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door of his room and would not let housekeepers in to clean.
He claimed not to have not seen his wife since the morning of April 5, but other hotel guests reported that "screams, crying and arguments" from Beresford-Redman's room had kept their families awake all night.
When a hotel staff member called Beresford-Redman's room on the night of April 5 about the noise complaints, he said he had been arguing with his wife but would stop. Later he said the noises came from the children playing games.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ruled Monday that there is "sufficient evidence" to support Mexican authorities' request for extradition.
The hotel's maintenance supervisor found Monica's body in a sewage cistern on April 8, not far from the family's room.
The "inconsistent and false statements" Beresford-Redman made to hotel workers and Mexican authorities after reporting Monica missing are "indicative of a consciousness of guilt," Chooljian said.
She added that the producer's version of events is "not credible" based on the "description of the screams by the hotel guests and the fact that the concierge and the hotel guests have no apparent motive to fabricate."
Although Beresford-Redman's daughter said she remembered playing games that night, and remembered her mother leaving the room, the judge said there is still probable cause for the charges.
"Although Beresford Redman's daughter may well have participated in playing noisy games with her family and may have seen her mother leave the hotel room in a blue dress at some point during the family's trip, the court does not credit the child's statements to the extent they are offered to corroborate Beresford-Redman's version of the events or independently to explain the noise emanating from the hotel room on the morning of April 5, 2010, or to exculpate Beresford Redman," the 17-page decision states.
"The court notes that irrespective of such statements, probable cause exists to believe that Beresford-Redman committed the aggravated homicide of the victim," Chooljian added.
In addition to "Survivor," Beresford-Redman was also executive producer of several other reality TV shows including "Pimp My Ride."
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