Joe Cool Mystery Solved

On September 22, Jake, Sammy, and the other first mate, Scott, headed out for an early-morning fishing charter and returned around 1 p.m. Thirty-five-year-old Scott, Jake's older half-brother, was born here, moved to Arizona, and then returned to Miami in 2006 after a bad breakup. He was like a best friend to Jake, sharing his love of the open water and big-game fishing.

Kelley joined the three men, and they all drank beer while awaiting Archer and Zarabozo. The pair showed up 15 minutes late, toting six black duffel bags. Jake's cousin, Jon Branam, a co-owner of the charter business, stopped by to collect the fares. Jon later recalled Archer seemed like a "real nice guy, likable ... I didn't really see anything wrong." Archer had frosted blond hair and a goatee; Zarabozo was quiet, dark-haired, and handsome. Before they left, Sammy ran over to a shop at the marina to buy some bait.

Jake piloted the boat past Monty's, the luxury condos, and Fisher Island. Halfway to Bimini, a GPS on board would later show the boat turned 190 degrees back toward Florida. Then it revolved a second time until it was headed 170 degrees south, toward Cuba. This was likely Archer's plan all along, federal agents believe: Go to Cuba and hide out from the child sex abuse allegations, the Arkansas grand theft charges, and the custody battle with his ex-wife. After all, the Caribbean nation has no extradition treaty with the United States, and he could live well there on the duffel bags of cash.

What happened next is something of a mystery, but the following version would come from a jailhouse snitch, who claims Zarabozo recounted events aboard the Joe Cool while he was in a federal lockup:

Archer told Jake to turn the boat around. He refused. They began to shout at one another. Archer pulled out a 9mm pistol and pointed it at Jake. Kelley yelled frantically to Sammy and Scott. "Call the Coast Guard! Now!"

The young bride likely watched as Archer shot her husband. Then he fired at Kelley, Sammy, and Scott.

Zarabozo tossed the four bodies overboard while Archer tried to navigate the boat through the choppy Florida Straits. At that point, his plan collapsed. Maybe he found that piloting the Joe Cool was difficult. Plus Archer was incensed that Zarabozo could find only one shell casing. They decided to abandon ship and float to Cuba on a life raft.

They threw the gun into the ocean and climbed aboard the rubber vessel. It was probably late Saturday or early Sunday; by that time, Jake Branam's family had informed authorities of the yacht's tardiness. The Coast Guard began searching the waters off the Bahamas.

The cutter's crew found the empty Joe Cool after a daylong search. They quickly turned up four 9mm shells, Zarabozo's ID and cell phone, and blood on the boat's stern. About 12 hours later, on the morning of Tuesday, September 25, the Coast Guard found Archer and Zarabozo in the life raft. They were carrying a blow gun, some darts, and 22 $100 bills.

Helicopter rescuers lifted the men from the raft onto the cutter. Interviewed separately, they told a wild story of Cuban pirates who came out of nowhere and attempted to hijack the yacht, killing the crew but somehow sparing the passengers. "They further described a third boat that subsequently arrived, took the three hijackers off the Joe Cool, and sped away," a federal report said.

But the men hadn't coordinated their alibis properly. "According to Archer, two hijackers wore shorts and T-shirts, while an older hijacker had on dark cargo pants and a T-shirt," the report continued. "[Zarabozo] said the three hijackers were all in polo shirts and jeans.... Zarabozo stated that the female was shot prior to Archer being on the fly bridge [the steering area of the boat], and Archer said he was next to the female on the fly bridge when she was shot."

Zarabozo also told investigators he was forced to clean up the blood after the shootings. Then, he claimed, he napped for eight hours. "He was sure of the length of time he had slept because he had set his stopwatch."

Other disturbing details emerged. Federal agents discovered the four spent shell casings matched a box of ammunition Zarabozo had bought in February 2007. They also found an empty handcuff box at his mother's house — and authorities assumed the small key found aboard the Joe Cool fit a pair of handcuffs. Meanwhile, local and national reporters swarmed Zarabozo's mother's house. She spoke briefly to America TeVe about how her son met Archer in Cuba; neighbors told newspaper reporters that Zarabozo was a quiet kid who would never harm anyone.

Jake Branam's family in Miami began to learn of the horror about the Joe Cool. So did Kelley's. In Kalamazoo, Donna Van Laar was making a batch of peanut butter cookies when her husband David came up from the basement. "I just saw Kelley's picture on TV," he said. The Coast Guard, they would all soon learn, had given up the search for bodies after only three days.