Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Murder, Attempted Murder, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon Aboard Scallop Boat
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on March 9, 2022, a crewman aboard a scallop boat has pled guilty in Boston federal court to one count of murder in the second degree, one count of attempted murder, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Franklin Freddy Meave Vazquez, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs on June 28, 2022.
The rampage occurred on September 23, 2018, aboard the F/V CAPTAIN BILLY HAVER while about 55 miles offshore Nantucket. Meave Vazquez allegedly struck one fellow crewman on the head with a hammer, then stabbed another several times with a long fillet knife, before striking a third crewman as he climbed a ladder out of the ice hold. He then struggled with the captain before climbing the boat’s rigging, at which point the captain made this dramatic distress call using the boat’s VHF radio – recording courtesy of Maritime Reporter TV and the U.S. Coast Guard: https://youtu.be/8uPHqK0gIGs
It appears the captain at first could not hear the Coast Guard and nearby vessels, including a Maersk container ship, answering his distress call.