Antigua couple: two charged with murder

A 17-year-old boy and his suspected adult accomplice were today charged with murdering honeymoon couple Catherine and Ben Mullany in their Antigua hotel room.

The pair, who have not been named, are the first to be accused of the killings.

Dr Mullany and her trainee physiotherapist husbandwere shot in the early hours of 27 July - the last day of their honeymoon - in what is thought to have been a bungled robbery of their cottage at the Cocos Hotel.

Detective Superintendent Keith Niven, of the Antiguan police, said: "Evidence was put before the director of public prosecutions last night and the decision was taken to charge two men, a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old."

The dead couple from Pontardawe, Wales, married on 12 July before setting off on the trip. They were buried last week after a service at the Welsh church where they were married a month earlier.

Seven people have been arrested since the newly-weds were gunned down.

Two women, aged 32 and 22, appeared before magistrates in Antiguan capital St John's on Thursday. They are understood to face charges related to property stolen from the Mullanys' holiday cottage.

In a statement last night, Antiguan police said: "A number of individuals were detained and questioned this week as a result of a pro-active police operation. Consequently, some have been charged with drug-related offences unconnected to the Mullanys' murder.

"So far as the two females arrested and charged last week, they are still remanded in custody at Her Majesty's Prison.

"Again we are not in a position to disclose any details regarding their arrests and charges except to say they are linked to the other three persons presently in police custody."

Local police are continuing to work with a team from Scotland Yard who have flown out to assist the investigation.

Dr Mullany, 31, died instantly after she was shot in the head. Her husband who was also 31 died in hospital in Swansea, from a bullet which ricocheted into his head, after he was flown home in a coma. Guest at the hotel reported hearing screams for help on the night the pair were killed.