'Survivor' producer arrested in wife's strangulation death [Updated]
Monica Beresford-Redman, the wife of a top reality TV show producer and the owner of a Brazilian restaurant and nightclub in Palms, has been found dead in Cancun, and her husband reportedly has been taken into custody.
"Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman told police that his wife vanished on Monday from the luxurious Moon Palace resort where they were staying. The Associated Press and Mexican media organizations reported that he was arrested Thursday morning.
In an interview with KCAL News on Wednesday night, Beresford-Redman said he was aiding in the search for his wife. "I'm very hopeful someone will find my wife very soon. She still hasn't been located and we're looking," he told the station.
The woman’s family filed a missing-person report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, Det. Diane Harris told The Times.
“They believed it had something to do with foul play,” Harris said.
The investigation is being handled by Mexican authorities. Calls to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico were not immediately returned.
Before the arrest, Carla Burgos, Beresford-Redman's sister, told KCAL that her family could not understand why she went missing.
"We're really lost. It's like a really big mystery," Burgos told the station.
Monica Beresford-Redman is the owner of Zabumba Bar & Restaurant on Venice Boulevard in Palms. The restaurant is known for serving Brazilian specialties like tri-tip steak and for hosting lively salsa, reggae and bossa nova nights. [For the record, 11:19 a.m.: A previous version of this story reported incorrectly that the restaurant was in Venice.]
Her husband is a veteran TV producer who has been nominated for three Emmy Awards. Besides "Survivor," he worked on "Pimp My Ride" and "The Restaurant."
Media reports in Mexico said that Monica Beresford-Redman had been strangled.
-- Kate Linthicum
Photo: Family handout
EDITOR'S PICKS:
I knew it! I knew that somehow he was involved with her death.
Posted by: DR | April 08, 2010 at 11:33 AM
hopefully Cancun is better than Aruba in solving these type of cases.....
Posted by: Tom, Long Beach, California | April 08, 2010 at 11:35 AM
"The investigation is being handled by Mexican authorities." It sounds like they are a ligitimate crime fighting organization.
Posted by: exie | April 08, 2010 at 12:05 PM
Glad I do not watch TV
Posted by: uncle_vito | April 08, 2010 at 12:07 PM
GUILTY!
Posted by: James R - Los Angeles | April 08, 2010 at 12:29 PM
If the husband did kill his wife.
Why kill your wife? Just get a divorce... What a waste. What a dumb decision. Hope he never gets out of the mexican prison system.
Posted by: HenryofLA | April 08, 2010 at 12:36 PM
This story sounds like many other stories i have read in the past.
It wouldn't be crazy if the husband did kill her himself.
maybe he has an affair and she found out, or he purposely took her to another country to strangle her to death. If she was in a high class resort, i doubt this would happen by someone who is a local.
Posted by: meli | April 08, 2010 at 12:41 PM
I wouldn't not be surprised id this man killed his wife himself.
The man most likely had something going on on the side of the relationship.
The perfect case, take her to another country and strangle her to death and no one will ever find out.
Posted by: meli | April 08, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Why in the world are they saying she'd been strangled if she's missing? Ridiculous.
Posted by: Paul Horne | April 08, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Does not surprise me at all.Hollywood always has murders.He'l get a Robert Shapiro type lawyer team and weasel his way out of it,as is the Hollywood tradition.
Posted by: davidozone | April 08, 2010 at 01:49 PM
We'll have to wait and see, but I wouldn't be surprised if another rich person thought they were above the law... We'll just have to wait for the investigation to be over.
Posted by: D.Klush | April 08, 2010 at 02:01 PM
he should contact OJ and Scott whozit for advice on how to handle his defense. these characters are brain-damaged if they think they can disappear their wives without getting caught.
Posted by: Chiquis | April 08, 2010 at 02:04 PM
Saw this coming from a mile away
Posted by: Julian | April 08, 2010 at 02:26 PM
Wow, nowdays you can't even trust your husband. This is so scary
Posted by: Sabrina Rattley | April 08, 2010 at 03:04 PM
I guess she wont be in the next survivor.
Posted by: Sook Mi | April 08, 2010 at 03:15 PM
The cost of the divorce settlement was probably a mitigating factor...
Posted by: Davison | April 08, 2010 at 04:10 PM
Every day we here on the news how it isn’t safe for Americans to go into Mexico. So you can’t say for sure it isn’t the Mexican Police or a drug cartel down there.
Posted by: Think Buzz | April 08, 2010 at 06:10 PM