Man Charged with Killing Wife at Sea Sought to Inherit her Estate, Prosecutor Says

Lewis Bennett, 41, was charged in February with second-degree murder on the high seas in the May 2017 disappearance of Isabella Hellmann, 41, of Delray Beach, Florida. The two were on their delayed honeymoon with plans to visit St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

The trial for his wife’s murder has been postponed until December while prosecutors have asked a federal judge in Florida to admit conversations between Hellmann and her family, which they are believed to have discussed arguments over a potential move to Australia, financial struggles and the raising of their daughter. Prosecutors claims that the couple argued constantly, and that Bennett was greedy for her apartment and bank account, which would show a possible motive for her murder. Hellmann’s body has yet to be found.

The FBI and investigators say that there is evidence that Bennett tried to intentionally sink the boat and that he made no attempts to locate his wife. Instead the FBI claim that he immediately got into a life raft with luggage, coins, and even a tea set.

See Ryan Gaydos, Man Charged with Killing Wife at Sea Sought to Inherit her Estate, Prosecutor Says, Fox News, September 17, 2018.