Bruce Beresford-Redman

For the Australian film director, see Bruce Beresford.

Bruce Beresford-Redman (born April 20, 1971) was the co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Pimp My Ride and a former producer of Survivor. In 2015, he was convicted in Mexico of the murder of his wife, Mónica.

Early life

The son of David and Juanita Beresford-Redman, he grew up in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, and attended Pascack Hills High School, with show co-creator Rick Hurvitz.[1] He graduated from New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida.

Career

Beresford-Redman was a reality TV producer and a producer of the ubiquitous television franchise Survivor, who was involved in producing Pimp My Ride, a popular car makeover show on MTV. His career has been eclipsed by an investigation into his wife's death early in 2010. Beresford-Redman fled back to the US shortly after the naked body of his wife was found near their hotel. Subsequently, he was charged in absentia by Mexican authorities, who successfully extradited him to stand trial on charges that he killed his wife at a Cancún resort following the couple's repeated attempts to reconcile in an otherwise "poisonous" marital relationship.[2]

Personal life

Beresford-Redman married a Brazilian national, Mónica Burgos, on April 8, 1999 in Rio de Janeiro; the couple had two children, who live with their paternal grandparents.

Murder of Mónica Beresford-Redman

On April 8, 2010, Beresford-Redman's wife, Mónica, was found dead at the Moon Palace resort in Cancun, Mexico, where they were vacationing. Mónica had been strangled and her body dumped in a sewer near where the couple was staying.[3][4][5][6] Later that day, he was detained and questioned by police as a person of interest in his wife's death. He was released by police during the early morning hours of April 8 on condition that he not leave Mexico while the investigation into his wife's death remained ongoing. Two young English tourists staying at the hotel claimed to have heard the couple arguing in their room on April 4, and Beresford-Redman was reportedly seen with scratches on his hands and the back of his neck. Mónica's cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. Beresford-Redman illegally left Mexico, as his passport had been retained in order to prevent him from leaving the country. He simply crossed the border, using his driver's license as identification and took a train to Los Angeles. [7]

On May 31, 2010, Mexico issued an arrest warrant on Beresford-Redman for the murder of his wife while Mexican prosecutors initiated extradition proceedings to return Beresford-Redman back to Mexico to be tried.[7]

Arrest

On November 16, 2010, CNN reported that Beresford-Redman had been arrested by U.S. marshals in Los Angeles on a warrant from Mexico.[8] On November 29, 2010, a Los Angeles federal judge denied Beresford-Redman's request for bail.

Extradition

On July 12, 2011, US magistrate Jacqueline Chooljian determined that Beresford-Redman should be sent to Mexico because there is enough circumstantial evidence to show probable cause he could have murdered his wife. US prosecutors, who have reviewed the case made by Mexican authorities, have said there is sufficient evidence[9] to show possible motives for Beresford-Redman having killed his wife include: collecting insurance money; getting sole custody of their children; and continuing an extramarital affair. Subsequently, Beresford-Redman waived further appeals and was extradited to Mexico on February 8, 2012.[10] A judge found sufficient evidence that Beresford-Redman murdered his wife, and ordered, on February 15, 2012, that he remain in custody pending adjudication.[11]

Since November 2014, Beresford-Redman remains in a jail in Cancún. Other witnesses did not appear or supported the defense. Much of the evidence against him was reportedly contaminated in police custody, and minute amounts of blood in the hotel room where the family stayed did not belong to Mónica Beresford-Redman per DNA testing.[12] As of September 2015, he has not seen his children in almost four years.[12][13]

Conviction

On March 12, 2015, Beresford-Redman was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to twelve years in prison by Judge Víctor Manuel Echeverría Tun. He has appealed and the prosecution has said the sentence is unduly lenient, and left open the possibility of also appealing.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Meisel, Melissa. "MTV's Tangerine-Flake, Streamline Baby, via New Jersey", The New York Times, June 26, 2005; accessed August 2, 2007. "MTV's popular (and radical) car makeover show, which is just starting its second full season, was created by two Woodcliff Lake natives who never got over the culture of the high school parking lot. In 1989, Beresford-Redman drove a Cadillac hearse, while his buddy Rick Hurvitz piloted a 1972 lime-green Oldsmobile Delta 88. 'As far as we know, everybody appreciated the irony', Beresford-Redman said of his Pascack Hills classmates in a recent e-mail exchange."
  2. ↑ Corina Knoll, "Death in Cancun: extradition papers detail poisonous relationship between Survivor producer and his wife", Sydney Morning Herald, February 2, 2011.
  3. ↑ "'Survivor' Producer 'Suspected' in Wife's Death in Mexico". Fox News. April 8, 2010.
  4. ↑ Castillo, E. Eduardo (2010-04-08). "TV producer a person of interest in wife's death". MSNBC. Associated Press.
  5. ↑ Kate Linthicum; Cecila Sanchez (2010-04-08). "For reality TV producer and his family, Cancun trip ends in tragedy". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ "Alor: No hubo flagrancia, por eso liberamos al productor de TV" (in Spanish). Diario de Yucatán. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  7. 1 2 "Mexico Issues Warrant for ex-'Survivor' Producer", MSNBC.com, May 31, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Reality TV Producer Arrested in Wife's Mexico Death", CNN.com, November 16, 2010.
  9. ↑ "The damning evidence against Bruce Beresford-Redman”, lapoliticaeslapolitica.blogspot.com, February 24, 2012; accessed November 15, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Former 'Survivor' producer extradited to Mexico, thewrap.com; accessed November 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ Profile of Beresford-Redman case, eluniversal.com.mx; accessed November 15, 2014. (Spanish)
  12. 1 2 3 Bruce Beresford-Redman prison diary, cbsnews; accessed November 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ Bruce Beresford-Redman verdict, cbsnews.com; accessed September 13, 2015.

External links

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