A Connecticut man facing manslaughter charges for the April death of a hotel worker in Anguilla has revealed new details about the incident and aftermath in an exclusive interview with Town & Country.
Opening up publicly for the first time since the bizarre events that led to his arrest, Gavin Scott Hapgood spoke about the seemingly random attack and subsequent legal battle that have turned his life into what he called “a living nightmare.”
Hapgood was arrested in April after the death of Kenny Mitchel, a Malliouhana hotel employee who allegedly attacked Hapgood in the hotel room he was sharing with his family while on vacation in Anguilla. According to Hapgood, Mitchel entered the room under the pretense of fixing a sink. Mitchel then allegedly pulled a knife and demanded Hapgood turn over his wallet, prompting Hapgood to tackle and pin Mitchel to the ground, where he held the attacker for 40 minutes until security arrived. Mitchel was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead due to suffocation caused by restraint.
Hapgood was subsequently arrested and charged with manslaughter before being released on $74,000 bail. In the five months since the event, Hapgood has returned to Anguilla multiple times for legal proceedings, and has now returned once again for a five-day hearing at which his lawyers hope to convince Anguilla’s attorney general to drop the charges against the Connecticut resident.
“I think they want me to violate my bail conditions, which would give them more leverage over me,” Hapgood told T&C of the multiple preliminary hearings he’s been forced to attend in Anguilla. “I’m not going to do that, Hapgood continued, adding, “I will return to Anguilla to satisfy my bail conditions and be respectful of their judicial process. I will have no hope of finding peace in my life until these charges are dropped.”
Hapgood also opened up about the emotional, financial and professional toll the incident has taken on his life and family, telling T&C that the legal proceedings have “decimated” his savings and “derailed” his career, adding that the family is subject to threats that have made it difficult to “feel completely safe at home.” Hapgood also discussed the difficulty of navigating a foreign legal system and expressed doubt in the legal process.
“I try to not think about how this event has affected my children and my wife and the rest of my family,” he said. “I try to not think about the fact that my family’s last name will forever be associated with this terrifying event.”
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