Sister of Florida woman who disappeared at sea claims husband killed her: Police report
— -- A sister of missing Florida woman Isabella Hellman, who mysteriously vanished at sea while on a trip with her husband, claims that Hellman's husband killed her, according to a Boca Raton police report.
Hellman disappeared over two weeks ago while on a boating trip with her husband Lewis Bennett, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
According to ABC affiliate WPBF in West Palm Beach, Bennett told the Coast Guard he and Hellman were aboard his catamaran near the Bahamas on May 14. When Bennett went to bed, he said his wife, who was wearing a life vest at the time, agreed to take watch above deck, the Coast Guard told WPBF. Bennett said he later awoke to something hitting the boat and felt that it was starting to sink, WPBF reported. Bennett couldn’t find his wife, so he jumped onto a life raft and sent out a distress call, he told the Coast Guard. Bennett was found on the life raft on May 15.
After days of scouring the waters off the Bahamas, the Coast Guard called off the search for Hellman.
After the search ended, Bennett told NBC affiliate WPTV that he planned to fly to Cuba and then get a boat to look for his wife himself, WPTV reported last week. Bennett told WPTV his family was “distraught.”
This weekend, Bennett, with his 9-month-old daughter, went to a sister-in-law’s home to collect items he said were taken from his home, including a computer, engagement ring, clothes and handbags, according to a Boca Raton police report. He asked for police to be there -- referred to by police as a "civil standby."
The police report says Bennett told one of his sisters-in-law that he knew the items were taken from his home, but the sister-in-law denied taking the items and invited Bennett into the home to look.
Another sister-in-law shouted at Bennett to leave and she "repeatedly stated that Lewis killed her sister," the police report said.
The police officer said in the report, "Eventually, Lewis and I decided that it was best that he leave since the property was not going to be handed over. Lewis agreed that it was best and left without incident."
The police report noted that a federal investigator told the Boca Raton police that Bennett is under investigation for the disappearance of his wife.
The Coast Guard told ABC News today that it and the FBI are conducting a joint investigation into the missing persons case but the Coast Guard declined to comment further citing the ongoing investigation.
The Palm Beach Post reported that neither the FBI nor Coast Guard "has said specifically that it is targeting Bennett or even that it is looking into the possibility of foul play."
Bennett and Hellman's family did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment.
ABC News' Ben Stein contributed to this report.
