Attorneys for a television producer charged in Mexico with murdering his wife while they were vacationing in Cancun said Monday prosecutors rushed to blame Bruce Beresford-Redman in a case based on "nothing more than weak assumptions, speculation and bias."
In a 24-page opposition to extradition document filed in Los Angeles federal court, attorneys for Beresford-Redman said Mexican authorities were lax in investigating the disappearance of the defendant's wife, Monica Burgos, after she failed to return to the hotel from a shopping trip.
Defense attorneys further claim corrupt Mexican law enforcement officials were led to begin building a case against Beresford-Redman almost immediately by Monica Burgos' two sisters, one of whom flew to Cancun upon hearing that her sister was missing.
"Even before leaving for Cancun, Jean Burgos conducted a press conference in which she accused her brother-in-law of being responsible for Monica's disappearance," according to the court filing.
In addition, attorneys for the defendant claim the hotel where the family was staying, the Moon Palace Resort, "was the scene of numerous violent attacks" and the area itself "is a cesspool of political corruption," according to the filing.
The lawyers say they know about at least three other violent and disturbing incidents, including killings, "either on or near the resort property at or around the time of Monica's murder."
The body of 41-year-old restaurant owner Monica Burgos was found April 8, 2010, in a sewage tank at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun.
The Burgos family released a statement through their attorney: "The Burgos family is both stunned and saddened by Bruce Beresford Redman's latest attempt to conceal his involvement in the murder of our sister, Monica Burgos. We are shocked at his shameless use of our young niece as his alibi when all of the available evidence points toward his guilt. We hope and pray that such abhorrent tactics will not prevent justice from being served in this case."
According to extradition papers filed by U.S. prosecutors, she had been struck on the head with a bat-like object, her face had been pummeled and her body had trauma consistent with being thrown against the hotel-room Jacuzzi. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation.
Police searched the couple's hotel room and found blood spatter throughout the bathroom, on a pillow, on a piece of furniture and on a balcony leading to a garden, according to court documents.
"The facts summarized above and set forth in the extradition request submitted by Mexico establish probable cause to believe that the fugitive committed the crime of aggravated homicide," federal prosecutors said in court papers.
An extradition hearing for Beresford-Redman is scheduled for July 12.
The defendant remains in federal custody pending the hearing, which will determine whether enough evidence exists to extradite the former "Survivor" producer to Mexico to face trial for his wife's murder.
Beresford-Redman left Cancun after his wife's death and was arrested seven months later by U.S. authorities at his Los Angeles home.
The couple's two children are in the custody of their paternal grandparents.
