Feds seek death penalty in yacht hijacking deaths

Federal prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against three Somalis charged with murder in the fatal shooting of four Americans aboard a hijacked yacht last year, according to a court document unsealed Tuesday.

Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle were among the four on board the yacht Quest when pirates hijacked it last year off the coast of Africa.

They were found shot to death after the Navy stormed the captured boat.

The decision to seek the death penalty is made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Prosecutors were required to tell the court if they planned to seek the death penalty before the Somalis’ trial started. A status hearing to set a trial date is scheduled for May 22.

The court filing outlines the reasons behind the decision to seek the death penalty. Among them, prosecutors say the men killed or attempted to kill more than one person during a single episode. It also says their actions endangered the U.S. military and that the Americans were killed “in an especially wanton and gratuitous manner.”

Each of the men, Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, have pleaded not guilty.

Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, along with the owners of the yacht Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., were the first Americans to be killed in a wave of pirate attacks off the coast of east Africa despite an international flotilla of warships that regularly patrol the area.

Ships and their crews are typically targeted by pirates in hopes of securing multi-million dollar ransoms.

Pirates had been hoping to bring the Americans back to Somalia to conduct ransom negotiations, but that plan fell apart when U.S. Navy warships began shadowing the Quest. The Navy had told the pirates that they could keep the yacht in exchange for the hostages, but they refused to take the deal because they didn’t believe they would get enough money. The only person authorized to negotiate the Americans’ release was also based in Somalia.

The destroyer USS Sterett was maneuvering between the Quest and the Somali coast when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at it. Soon after, shots were fired on board the Quest.

Court documents say the Americans were being held in the yacht’s steering wheel house by seven men when the Americans were fired upon. Other pirates have said they tried to stop the shooting once it started. By the time Navy SEALs scrambled aboard the yacht, each of the Americans had already been wounded.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.