Ex-’Survivor’ producer won’t fight extradition

The former “Survivor� producer accused of killing his wife during a family vacation in Cancun will not fight extradition to Mexico, his attorneys said Tuesday.

Bruce Beresford-Redman’s lawyers said in a statement Tuesday that their client, who maintains his innocence, will not appeal a judge’s ruling that there is enough evidence to extradite him and instead will prepare to defend himself at trial.

The body of his wife, Monica Burgos Beresford-Redman, 41, was found in a sewer at the resort hotel where the couple was vacationing with their two young children in April 2010. She had suffered a blow to the head and died of asphyxia by suffocation. In July, a U.S. magistrate judge ruled that there was probable cause to extradite Beresford-Redman, 40, to Mexico.

The producer asked U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez to overturn the decision, saying there was not enough evidence to constitute probable cause for extradition. Gutierrez denied the request Wednesday, citing “pages upon pages of competent evidence demonstrating that the fugitive committed the offense for which extradition was sought.�

“The Certification [of Extraditability] summarizes the infidelity, fighting, screaming from the hotel room, the fugitive’s opportunity to dispose of the victim’s body, the ultimate location of the victim’s body (25 meters from the hotel room), the victim leaving her cellphone behind, scratches and abrasions upon the fugitive’s body, and the fugitive’s flight.

“All of this evidence points to homicide committed by the fugitive,� he wrote.

Beresford-Redman’s lawyers said in their statement that they were disappointed with the judge’s decision, but added: “He is innocent and it is his hope that the court in Mexico will assure that he receives a fair trial in which, he is confident, he will be exonerated.�

Defense attorney Richard Hirsch said in a telephone interview that because the court’s rulings regarding his client’s extraditability have been “fairly consistent,� the defense team felt that their chances of prevailing on appeal would be slim.

Hirsch said that among the points in favor of his client’s innocence are the “extremely inconsistent� scientific conclusions drawn by Mexican authorities regarding the time and place of the killing, as well as inconsistent test results of possible blood in and outside of the hotel room.

The timeline for extradition will depend on the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department, and has not been determined, but Hirsch said it probably would be in about 60 days.

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