Background
Ben Mullany, who was from Ystalyfera, Wales, was training to become a physiotherapist and was in his third year at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, England. Catherine Mullany, who had grown up a few miles away from her future husband, was a paediatrician training to be a general practitioner. On 12 July 2008, Ben and Catherine married at St John the Evangelist Church in Cilybebyll, Wales. Two days after the marriage, the couple checked into Antigua’s Cocos Hotel on 14 July 2008.
The night before they were to return to the United Kingdom, only two weeks after their wedding, the couple were fatally shot in their cottage in what was thought to be a botched robbery attempt. Catherine was shot in the head and died instantly. Ben suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. Though he was able to signal and murmur to the paramedics, on the way to the hospital he lapsed into a coma. Ben's parents, who flew to Antigua with Catherine's parents, decided to fly him back to Britain via air ambulance in a last-ditch attempt to save his life. Ben was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, where his murdered wife, Catherine, had worked.
On 3 August 2008, exactly one week after his wife died, following brain stem testing, Ben Mullany died. His life support machines were turned off after doctors told his parents that there was no chance of recovery. The couple were buried together in Cilybebyll. Their funeral was held at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales on 10 September 2008. Around 900 people attended including Sarah, Duchess of York.
In July 2011, Kaniel Martin and Avie Howell were found guilty of their murders and that of a shopkeeper, Woneta Anderson.
Read more about this topic: Antigua Honeymoon Murders
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