Number 9 Lewis Bennett & Isabella Hellmann In May of 2017, Lewis Bennett and Isabella
Hellmann, both in their early 40s, were honeymooning in the Florida straits on Bennett’s catamaran.
They’d been sailing to the US coast from Cuba.
Bennett told the Coast Guard that he was sleeping below deck when the vessel struck something
in the darkness.
He then discovered that Hellmann, his wife and mother to his young daughter, had disappeared
from the helm of the sinking catamaran.
However, the authorities discovered evidence that it had been scuttled intentionally through
holes deliberately drilled in its hull.
Hellmann’s body was never found, in spite of Bennett’s claims that she’d been wearing
a life jacket.
Even though he claimed to be “devastated” by the loss of his partner, there was nothing
to indicate that he had made any efforts to look for her.
He didn’t fire flares to illuminate the water or activate the vessel’s electronic
homing device.
It was only after 45 minutes and when he was already on the life raft that he radioed for
help.
Coastguards also found him with a trove of silver coins, worth over $40,000 that he’d
previously reported stolen from his employer.
It also emerged that the couple had been bickering over their finances and that Hellmann had
no idea how her partner earned his money.
Prosecutors initially accused Bennett of murdering his wife to put an end to their marital strife
and inherit her wealth.
He ultimately pled guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced
to 8 years in a US prison.
Number 8 Sven Fouche & Chantal Bayer In 2013, newlyweds Sven Fouche and Chantal
Beyer were on a trip to the Aloe Ridge Game Reserve, near Johannesburg, South Africa.
The honeymooners went on a safari and encountered a group of rhinos.
The wildlife expert accompanying them encouraged Fouche and Beyer to stand closer to the animals
for a photo.
They were both smiling for the camera, with their backs turned to them.
Fouche would subsequently recall the fear he’d seen in the wildlife expert’s eyes
after he’d taken the photo.
Fouche turned around and saw that the rhino was right behind him.
Moments later, 24-year-old Beyer was gored and flung several feet into the air, after
the rhino’s horn had penetrated her chest from behind.
She survived the attack but it had left her with injuries to her shoulder, several broken
ribs and a collapsed lung.
Number 7 Stephen and Jeffanie Kramar In 2018, US Navy veteran Stephen Kramar disappeared
during a honeymoon vacation to Hawaii.
Stephen and his wife, Jeffanie, were staying at a resort in Kaunakakai, Molokai.
They’d arrived on September the 9th, the day after their wedding.
Nine days later, Stephen, who was an avid hiker, started exploring the area for a trail
that they could go on together.
In the afternoon, he texted Jeffanie that he was on his way back but never returned.
A search party was mounted for the 27-year-old after his wife reported him missing.
The rescue effort was complicated by the fact that Stephen’s phone was either turned off
or had run out of battery, meaning the authorities couldn’t track it.
4 days after his disappearance had been reported, Stephen’s body was found in Pia Gulch, about
half a mile from the resort.
He was at the bottom of a 150-foot drop, off a cliff, with a freshly fallen boulder next
to him.
Investigators determined that he hadn’t been crushed by the massive rock.
The most likely scenario was that he’d leaned against it, to look over the edge, at which
point smaller rocks beneath it began to crumble, thus triggering the collapse and causing Stephen
to fall over the edge as well.
Number 6 Christine Fensome & Andy Bennetts In September of 2016, British woman Christine
Fensome died during a dream honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico.
The mother-of-three had lost her first husband to a hit and run, in 2004.
She’d struggled to cope with his passing, for years, until she met Andy Bennetts.
They’d become romantically involved and, after tying the knot on September the 17th,
the couple left for South America.
While there, 54-year-old Fensome woke up one night feeling terribly ill with symptoms that
included diarrhea, weakness and what her husband described as “funny sounds coming from her
throat”.
She was rushed to a hospital where she passed away, from heart failure, within 10 minutes
of arrival.
It was later determined that she’d suffered fatal ciguatoxin poisoning, from eating contaminated
fish.
The illness, called ciguatera, is triggered by toxins found on algae in various reef ecosystems
around the world, including the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s consumed by smaller fish which, in turn, are predated upon by larger species,
such as barracudas or groupers.
It’s believed that Fensome had eaten a grouper which had the poison in its system.
Ciguatoxin can’t be destroyed by conventional cooking and has no specific taste or smell.
As the most common form of seafood poisoning, ciguatera is rarely lethal but there’s no
treatment once it sets in.
Number 5 Muhammad Malik & Noor Shah In the fall of 2020, a newlywed Manhattan
couple died while vacationing in the Caribbean after they were caught in a strong riptide.
Four days after they’d had their wedding in Long Island, 26-year-old Muhammad Malik
and his bride, Noor Shah, aged 29, were at a Turks and Caicos Islands resort.
According to witnesses, they’d been swimming in chest-deep water when they were pulled
away by the current.
They tried hard to fight it but were swiftly dragged underwater.
Bystanders intervened and succeeded in bringing them to shore, where they performed CPR.
Unfortunately, the couple, both respected members of New York’s Pakistani-American
community, were pronounced dead at the scene.
In the aftermath, Malik’s father was critical of the resort for not putting up signs to
warn tourists about the potential dangers.
Number 4 William & Blakley Harrell In November of 2020, a newlywed NASCAR crew
member and his wife were killed in a brutal car crash, in the Florida Keys.
30-year-old William “Rowdy” Harrell and his wife Blakley, 23, had married on November
the 21st, in their native Alabama.
William, who’d worked in the pit crew of Hendrick Motorsports for 8 seasons, was also
a former college linebacker for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
He was behind the wheel of a 2020 Toyota Corolla as the couple was on their way to honeymoon
in Florida, four days after their wedding.
He was northbound on US 1, when he crossed the centerline and into the path of a Ford
F-250 pickup truck.
The other driver had tried to avoid the couple’s vehicle, but they collided head on.
William and Blakley died at the scene.
The driver of the oncoming vehicle only sustained minor injuries while his two passengers were
in a more serious condition, but the extent remains unclear.
A toxicology report performed by the Florida Highway Patrol found alcohol and marijuana
in William’s system, which may have contributed to the accident.
Number 3 Ben & Catherine Mullany In 2008, on the last day of a two-week honeymoon
to Antigua, a Welsh couple was robbed and then executed.
At around 5 am, other guests from the luxurious Coco’s Hotel reported hearing gunfire.
After intruders had broken into their room, Catherine Mullany and her husband, Ben, were
forced to kneel beside their bed.
The couple, both 31, was then shot in the back of the head.
Catherine died instantly while Ben fell in a coma and was flown back to Swansea.
About a week after the shooting he too passed away.
The couple’s phones, cash and a camera were among the items stolen from the room.
Avie Howell and Kaniel Martin were subsequently arrested and charged with murder.
They were located after SIM cards registered to them were activated in the stolen phones.
The men were also found guilty of killing 43-year-old shopkeeper Woneta Anderson.
It took a jury only 10 hours to convict them to life in prison.
The Honeymoon Killings, as the media had dubbed them, shocked the nation of Antigua, which
up to that point had a great reputation as a holiday destination.
A few years later, Howie and an accomplice, who’d reportedly been incarcerated for fraud,
escaped from prison.
They cut through a wire fence and scaled a 30-foot-high wall.
The police later confronted the 24-year-old fugitive at a rural parish, just south of
the capital.
He was shot in the knees and later succumbed to his injuries.
Today's topic was requested by Nakia Rhone.
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comments section below Number 2 Shrien & Anni Dewani
A few weeks after their wedding, in 2010, Shrien and Anni Dewani were honeymooning in
South Africa.
They’d spent four days on safari, in the Kruger National Park, before arriving at a
5-star hotel in Cape Town.
After spending most of their Saturday lounging at the luxurious resort’s pool, they decided
to explore the city, later in the evening.
After an hour and a half of being driven around in a local taxi and taking in the sights,
they opted to leave the safer tourist area to have a look at a township, a few miles
away.
They were stopped at a junction, in Gugulethu, by two armed men.
One of them tried to use his weapon to smash through the driver’s window.
The attackers pulled the driver out then took off with the couple still in the taxi.
They took Shrien and Anni’s valuables but claimed that they only wanted the vehicle
and weren’t going to hurt them.
They later threw Shrien out of the car and drove off with Anni.
After being left alone in the middle of the township, Shrien convinced a local man to
call the police.
The authorities drove around, with Shrien in the car, but were unsuccessful in locating
the attackers.
On Sunday morning, Anni’s body was found abandoned in the taxi, in a different township.
She’d been abused and shot at least three times.
A long legal battle ensued, in which the suspects tried to paint Shrien as the mastermind of
a murder for hire plot targeting his wife.
The allegations made global headlines but were ultimately discredited with Shrien deemed
innocent by a South African court, in 2014.
It was discovered that the hijacking hadn’t been random but planned by the taxi driver,
Zola Tongo, working in cahoots with the hijackers, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni.
Tongo and Qwabe were given sentences of 18 and 25 years, respectively, while Mgeni was
sentenced to life in prison.
Number 1 Ralph and Christel Jankus In 2019, a newlywed German man faced manslaughter
charges after fatally perforating his wife’s bowel during a prolonged lovemaking session.
49-year-old Christel Jankus died only days after walking down the aisle with Ralph, aged
52, in Krefeld, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Instead of going on a traditional honeymoon the couple opted to celebrate their marriage
with a 48-hour bondage session.
It was during this time that Ralph used a spiked, 8-inch hook on Christel.
When the adult toy was removed, it perforated the woman’s bowel.
Ralph called the emergency services four days later but paramedics were unable to save her.
When questioned why he hadn’t sought help for his wife sooner, Ralph claimed that he
didn’t understand how serious her condition was, as she’d complained about stomach discomfort
in the past.
A self-confessed sadomasochist, he told the authorities that everything that occurred
between him and Christel had been consensual, adding “it was our honeymoon period”.
According to the woman’s adult son, whom described her as mentally unstable, Ralph
had abused her in the past.
He believed that the violence and humiliation extended past the consensual confines of the
bedroom but affirmed a belief that Christel did, indeed, love her husband.
A court determined that Ralph had been “grossly negligent” but found no grounds for a manslaughter
charge.
Ralph was given a suspended sentence for grievous bodily harm and left the court a free man.
Thanks for watching!
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for a month?
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