Guillermo Zarabozo, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and several violations of maritime law.

case of murder on the high seas is about to be played out in a Miami Dade courtroom as jury selection got underway Monday for the trial of one of two men accused of killing the captain and crew of the Miami charter boat Joe Cool.
Guillermo Zarabozo, 20, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, robbery and several violations of maritime law. He and co-defendant Kirby Archer, 36, are accused of the murders of charter boat captain Jake Branam, his wife Kelly, and crew members Scott Gamble and Samuel Kairy. The two men originally hired the Joe Cool to go to the Bahamas, and then tried to divert it to Cuba. When the crew refused, they were shot, killed and dumped overboard. The bodies were never recovered. Zarabozo and Archer were found floating in a life raft. They originally told investigators that they were attacked by pirates. In July Archer, a robbery fugitive from Strawberry, Arkansas, accepted a plea deal from prosecutors and admitted to participating in the murders of the Joe Cool crew. He said he shot and killed the Branams, but it was Zarabozo who killed Gamble and Kairy. In exchange for his guilty plea, he will not face the death penalty. Archer will be sentenced October, 2nd. During his trial Zarabozo is expected to testify that Archer committed all the murders and that he wasn't aware of the Cuba hijacking plot. At a hearing in August, Zarabozo said he also went along with the story about an attack by pirates because he feared Archer would kill him as well. Last month, U.S. District Judge Paul Huck ruled that lie detector test results for Zarabozo would not be admissible at trial. The ruling was a blow to Zarabozo's defense attorneys who said the results would back up their client's claim that he did not kill anyone. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Posted in: Joe Cool