Quirk in Mexican law slows extradition of TV producer sought in death of wife at resort

Quirk in law slows extradition of accused producer

LOS ANGELES — A quirk in Mexican law has delayed extradition proceedings for a TV producer being sought in the death of his wife at a posh resort in Cancun, authorities said Tuesday.

“Survivor” producer Bruce Beresford-Redman has said he returned to his Los Angeles home after leaving Mexico without his passport last month.

Still, authorities in Mexico said the extradition process requires a search of that country to determine that a suspect is not there before an extradition request is made to another nation.

Francisco Alor, the Quintana Roo state attorney general, said that determination could be made by Wednesday.

“We’re following a process that’s clearly established and based on the theme of collaboration between two countries, and we will begin right away,” he said.

Evidence against Beresford-Redman includes unspecified testimony by hotel employees and tourists, and contradictions by Beresford-Redman, the prosecutor said.

A judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant Monday for the producer in the death of Monica Beresford-Redman. Her body was found April 8 in a sewer at the resort where the family was staying.

Bruce Beresford-Redman, 38, has said he was not connected to the death.

Alison Triessl, the attorney for the family of Monica Beresford-Redman, said they were elated that Mexico was finally moving to make the arrest two months after the body was found.

The family wants Bruce Beresford-Redman to be held without bail pending extradition.

“He has shown he has the potential to flee. He left Mexico without his passport,” Triessl said.

Attorney Richard Hirsch, who represents Bruce Beresford-Redman, said his client has not hidden his whereabouts and has been visible since his return to the U.S. last week. TV footage Tuesday showed him playing with his children outside his home.

“We have been in touch with the U.S. consulate in Mexico, and no one is treating him as a fugitive,” Hirsch said. “He has TV camera crews living in front of his house. “

Hirsch declined to discuss how Beresford-Redman was able to re-enter the United States without his passport, which was confiscated by Mexican authorities in April.

If Mexico requests extradition, the U.S. State Department will review the facts and decide whether to authorize a formal extradition request. Beresford-Redman could then be arrested and have the option of waiving extradition to Mexico or fighting it.

Hirsch said his client would resist extradition.

The producer and the family of his slain wife have issued dueling press releases.

He made his first statement Monday, declaring his innocence and saying he was devastated by the loss of his wife.

“I am incensed at the suggestion that I could have had anything to do with her death,” he said. “I am innocent.”

In a statement for the family, Triessl suggested that if Beresford-Redman was innocent, he should waive extradition and return to Mexico to defend himself.

“We do not buy his newly found contrition,” the statement said, denouncing him for failing to reach out to his wife’s family since she died.

The producer, an Emmy nominee for three episodes of “Survivor” who also created the MTV show “Pimp My Ride,” has acknowledged he had a long-term affair with another woman.

Hirsch said the affair was over, and the Beresford-Redmans had been in marriage counseling before they went on the family vacation to Mexico with their small children.

Monica Beresford-Redman’s body was found at the Moon Palace Hotel resort. Investigators have said she showed signs of asphyxiation and evidence of a heavy blow to the right temple.

They said Beresford-Redman told them he last saw her after she left the resort to go shopping. Prosecutors said he reported her missing two days before her body was found.