A pair of convicted felons last month ambushed former Manchester businessman Richard J. Gardner aboard his boat in the Florida Keys, where he was left to die inside a locked cabin, Florida authorities said yesterday.
Jonathan L. LeBaron, 32, of Salt Lake City, Utah, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the Feb. 10 slaying of Gardner, 57.
LeBaron and his girlfriend, Kristena Whitmore, 40, of Oregon, have been held in a Salt Lake County jail since they were arrested at a Midvale, Utah motel on Feb. 21.
Monroe County (Fla.) authorities said they will bring LeBaron back to Key West to face the homicide charge. LeBaron also is charged with grand theft auto for allegedly stealing Gardner's 1999 Mercury Marquis after the deadly attack.
So far, LeBaron has refused to speak with investigators and indicated he will fight extradition to Florida, authorities said.
But Whitmore, with her attorney present, gave Monroe County detectives a jailhouse interview last Thursday during which she allegedly described how the murder occurred and provided details that led to the recovery of Gardner's car in Memphis, Tenn.
Whitmore said she and LeBaron, who were released from an Okaloosa County (Fla.) prison within days of each other last September, arrived in Key West last fall.
She told investigators Gardner responded to an ad she posted on craigslist and that she performed sexual acts on him in exchange for money numerous times.
According to the warrant, Whitmore said she called Gardner and told him she no longer had a place to stay. Gardner offered to let her stay on his boat. The two agreed to meet Feb. 10 at King's Pointe Marina in Key West, where Gardner docked his 43-foot motor boat, "Flo to Me."
The evening before Gardner was due to arrive, Whitmore said she and LeBaron spent the night on board Gardner's boat. She said Gardner had no idea LeBaron was with her, the warrant continues.
Whitmore said she was waiting on the boat's deck and LeBaron was hiding in the cabin below when Gardner arrived early in the evening Feb. 10. She said she followed Gardner through the hatch and down the stairs into the cabin where the attack occurred. She told investigators Gardner fell back against her, pinning her to the floor during the struggle where she heard "bones crunching." She said she suffered a swollen lip in the attack. Gardner suffered a broken upper and lower jaw and had many teeth knocked out.
Whitmore said she could not see what was going on, but at one point heard Gardner say: "Please don't kill me. I've got money."
Gardner finally was moved off her and onto the cushioned seats around the dining table, Whitmore told police. She said she could see his bloodied legs and hear him making "gurgling noises."
Whitmore said she also was covered in blood. She said LeBaron threw her a pair of pants and told her to "get cleaned up" while he went through Gardner's pant pockets and stole his car keys, the warrant said. She said she turned on the air conditioning before the couple left the cabin. LeBaron then closed and locked the hatch from the outside, she said.
Whitmore said they stole Gardner's car and headed north on U.S. 1. As they passed over a long, two-lane bridge, LeBaron rolled down the passenger window and tossed out a switchblade with a 4- to 6-inch blade, a rubber mallet-type hammer and Whitmore's cell phone, the warrant said.
Tennessee police stopped LeBaron and Whitmore near Memphis on Feb. 12 for a traffic violation. The couple claimed to have no identification on them and gave false identities. Police found an identification card for Richard Gardner in the car along with a bank deposit receipt for $7,000 that had been made Feb. 9 into Gardner's account, the warrant said.
LeBaron falsely claimed to be James Gardner and said his uncle, Richard Gardner, let him use the car. But police called Estelle Gardner, who was Richard Gardner's mother and listed as the registered owner of the car. She told police her son and his car were supposed to be in Key West.
Tennessee authorities asked Monroe County sheriff's deputies to do a well-being check on the boat at that time. A sheriff's deputy went to the boat, found it locked from the outside, smelled no odor of decomposition or detected any other evidence of a crime, the warrant said. With no reason to hold them, Tennessee authorities let the couple go.
Authorities returned to the boat the next morning after Gardner's wife, Jennie, reported her husband missing to police in Cape Coral, Fla, where the couple lived. An FBI agent discovered Gardner's body inside the locked boat later that morning.
A nationwide alert was issued for the couple who were arrested at a Motel 6 in Midvale, Utah on Feb. 21.
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