yacht cover

Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Captured Catamaran

On 18 February 2024, three prisoners escaped from a holding cell at the South St. George Police Station on Grenada, hijacked the yacht of an American couple docked nearby, took them captive, and sailed the vessel to the island of St. Vincent, where the yacht, a catamaran, was found on the 21st, and the prisoners recaptured.  The boat showed signs of violence, including what appeared to be bloodstains, but of Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, its owners, there was no sign.  Presumably the couple were somehow disposed of at sea by their attackers, and little hope of their recovery has been offered.

Often in stories of this nature, there’s not a lot of hard astrological data to go on.  No one is quite sure how soon after their escape it was that the prisoners took control of the catamaran and kidnapped its owners, much less when their final fate occurred.  In that absence, I’ll be using the date of the prisoners’ escape, February 18th.  And we typically don’t have birth data, even for victims, initially (though sometimes a suspect’s DOB will be available from charging documents), but we do here, due to the bizarre coincidence that February 21st, the date the hijacked yacht was found, would have been Kathy Brandel’s 71st birthday, as revealed by her son in media reports.  He also gave the birthdate of her partner Ralph Hendry as March 2nd, four years her junior.

So we have some good data to go on.  Next step, finding appropriate asteroid matches.  There’s an asteroid Kathy 4711, Kathleen 3754 (her full given name), Ralph 5051 and Hendrie 4506 (alternate spelling of Hendry); we also have Henry 1516 and Brandia 1168 as approximations for Hendry and Brandel.  Key locations for the story include St Vincent, with asteroid Vincent 34846 as a match; and St George, with asteroid George 3854.

yacht map
The catamaran yacht was hijacked in St George, Grenada and found by authorities in St Vincent; asteroid George for the hijacking conjoins asteroids Karma (fate) and Roberts (for suspect Trevon Robertson), opposed asteroid Saylor (sailor) in a T-Square with asteroid Ralph (for victim Ralph Hendry). while asteroid Vincent conjoins asteroids Villon and Vilen (for villains), opposed asteroid Abetti (for suspect Abati Stanislaus), in a T-Square with TNO Ixion (murder)

There is no “yacht” or “catamaran” asteroid, but several that relate, directly or indirectly, to seagoing vessels.  Asteroid Schiff 61401 is the German word for “ship,” asteroid Skiff 2554 refers to a variety of small craft, and asteroid Saylor 21468 is an alternate spelling for “sailor.”  In addition, we can use asteroid Shipka 2530 as “ship;” asteroid Boattini 8925 as “small boat;” and Nautilus 9769 as shorthand for all things nautical.  Especially apt here is asteroid Seagrave 5574, a surname which, when broken into its component parts reads “sea grave,” here referring to the probable disposal of the victims’ bodies, perhaps never to be recovered.  Seagrave first proved its utility in the Titan Submersible disaster from last June.

For the suspects, we have Ron Mitchell, 30, represented by asteroids Rone 8680 and Mitchella 1455; Trevon Robertson, 19, with asteroids Trevino 13716 and Roberts 3428; and Abita Stanislaus, 25, with asteroids Abetti 2646 and Stanislav 7632.  Additionally, casting them as the villains of the piece, we’ll be testing three cosmic appellations that might apply in a generic sense for the suspects:  asteroids Vilain 256369, Vilen 4514 and Villon 10140, all phonetically related to “villain,” an individual with evil intent.

It’s a complicated astrological picture, and I’m going to reverse the usual order of things by looking at the victims’ charts first, for presentiments of their ultimate fate.  We’ll start with the basics.

Born 21 February 1953, Kathleen “Kathy” Brandel has asteroid Kathleen trine the 2 Pisces Sun, embedded at station from 6 Cancer, with asteroid Brandia at 19 Virgo, opposed Mercury at 17 Pisces.  In this she’s typical of most folks, who have PNAs (Personal-Named Asteroids) which represent them in connection to the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Mercury (as ruling the naming function).  Even though, without a birth time, we don’t have placements for the Moon or Ascendant, Kathy Brandel still fits this pattern. 

yacht victims
Victims Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel; Kathy’s chart shows a stationary asteroid Vilain (villain), conjoined by TNO Ixion (murder), Neptune (the sea, sailing vessels) and Saturn (death); Ralph’s chart shows a stationary asteroid Vilen (villain) conjunct asteroid Anubis (death) on the fulcrum of a T-Square with asteroids Kathleen (Kathy Brandel’s given first name), Skiff (small boat), George (St George), Schiff (German for “ship”) and Vilain (villain)

Asteroid Kathleen turned direct the day after her birth, and is accompanied by asteroids Saylor at 3 Cancer, Mitchella at 7 Cancer, and Vincent at 14 Cancer.  Saylor and Mitchella are also at station, indicating persons, places or attributes with disproportionate impact in her life.  Saylor at station indicates her great love of the seafaring life, with retirement on a yacht a lifelong goal.  The stationary Mitchella identifies Ron Mitchell, one of those suspected of ending her life, while Vincent pinpoints St Vincent as the locale where that life ended.  Saylor turned direct the day she was born, Mitchella the day after.

Also at station, asteroid Trevino, which turned direct from 21 Cancer, also on the day after her birth; and asteroid Vilain, one of our markers of villains, which turned retrograde at 25 Libra on February 10th, but remains at its station degree.  Trevino represents suspect Trevon Robertson, appropriately squared Vilain, which identifies him in that role, and is enmeshed in a cluster of points which further fleshes out the details.  These are TNO Ixion 28978, named for the first murderer in Greek myth; Neptune at 23 Libra, ruling the high seas; Saturn at 27 Libra, ancient lord of death; and asteroid Nautilus at 0 Scorpio, for a connection to sailing.  Put it all together, it reads, “death (Saturn) by murder (Ixion) at the hands of a bad actor (Vilain) while sailing (Nautilus) the ocean (Neptune).”

Pretty astounding, but there’s more.  Asteroid Kathy, for the diminutive she was most known by, appears at 14 Aquarius, in a remarkable grouping that includes asteroids Skiff at 7 Aquarius, Roberts at 12 Aquarius, Abetti and George both at 18 Aquarius, Ralph and asteroid Karma 3811 both at 22 Aquarius, and Hendrie at 27 Aquarius.  We see here, compressed within twenty degrees of the zodiac, not only Kathleen Brandel herself (Kathy), but both her partner’s names (Ralph, Hendrie), the names of two of her attackers (Abetti for Abita Stanislaus and Roberts for Trevon Robertson), the small craft (Skiff) and location where she was attacked (George), and a fated circumstance binding them all together (Karma).

yacht mitchell
Suspect Ron Mitchell, age 30, was the oldest of the attackers, and may have been the ringleader; asteroid Mitchella (for Mitchell) for the hijacking conjoins asteroid Hendrie (for Ralph Hendry), opposing the Sun, placing Micthell and one of his victims in the spotlight; asteroid Mitchella appears at station in Kathy Brandel’s chart, conjunct stationary asteroids Kathleen and Saylor, as well as asteroid Vincent; asteroid Mitchella in Ralph Hendry’s chart is in a T-Square with asteroids Vincent, Atropos (death), Rone (for Ron) and Damocles (threat or peril)

This cosmic cluster opposes Pluto, modern lord of death and planetary ruler of criminal acts and homicide, at 21 Leo, with portions of the cluster forming a T-Square with asteroid Requiem 2254 at 11 Taurus, Jupiter at 14 Taurus, asteroid Seagrave at 17 Taurus, Vilen at 26 Taurus, asteroid Boattini at 27 Taurus and asteroid Lachesis 120 at 28 Taurus.  Requiem is named for the funeral mass for the dead, Lachesis is named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life (making two death markers to reference the outcome of the Aquarian contacts); Vilen again identifies an evil actor and Boattini his field of operations; while Seagrave alludes to the final resting place and Jupiter brings a measure of fame or publicity to the death.  Just ahead of this group, in square to Skiff, Roberts and Damocles 5335 (at 1 Aquarius, the doom hanging unseen overhead) are asteroids Stanislav and Villon at 3 and 6 Taurus, directly connecting another attacker to his role in the atrocity.

As well, a string of points from late Pisces into early Aries reveals more of the specifics.  Asteroid Hera 103 at 23 Pisces, named for the Greek goddess of marriage, is followed by asteroid Osiris 1923 at 27 Pisces, named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead; asteroid Juno 3 at 29 Pisces (Hera’s Roman counterpart); asteroid Shipka at 1 Aries (the yacht); asteroid Henry at 3 Aries (alternative for Ralph Hendry); asteroid Atropos 273 at 8 Aries (named for the Fate who severs the thread of life at death); and Mars at 10 Aries (attacks, violent death).  This is another stunning testament to Kathleen Brandel’s eventual death (Osiris, Atropos) by violence (Mars) on a seafaring vessel (Shipka) with her partner (Hera, Juno), Ralph Hendry (Henry).

While none of these groupings fits within the standard ten-degree range for a classical conjunction, they clearly all relate to one another and reveal a story as the points progress through the hot zone.

Ralph Hendry’s chart shows much the same revelatory pattern, if not with quite the same drama.  Born 2 March 1957, asteroid Ralph at 15 Aries is semisquare Mercury at 26 Aquarius, with asteroid Hendrie at 9 Capricorn sextile the 11 Pisces Sun; again, these are standard PNA placements.  As with Kathy Brandel, sailing emerges as a theme, with asteroid Saylor squared the Sun from 7 Gemini, making it somehow self-defining.  Saylor is also exactly squared asteroid Juno at 7 Pisces, reflecting the love of sailing in his partner (Juno).

yacht simplicity
A love of sailing united Kathy and Ralph, who sold their home and bought “Simplicity,” a catamaran yacht, as a retirement residence in 2013; asteroid Saylor appears at station in Kathy Brandel’s chart, trine her Sun; asteroid Saylor squares the Sun for Ralph Hendry

The Sun also conjoins asteroid Lachesis at 15 Pisces, that determiner of lifespan, and is further involved in a Grand Cross, exactly opposed asteroid Brandia (for Brandel) at 11 Virgo.  But also here is asteroid Trevino, exact with Brandia, for one of his attackers, Trevon Robertson, among those responsible for cutting both partner’s lives short (Lachesis).  The final leg of the Grand Cross is filled by asteroid Abetti at 13 Sagittarius, representing a second attacker, Abita Stanislaus.  As well, asteroid Mitchella at 9 Scorpio, for the third attacker, Ron Mitchell, is trine the Sun.  PNAs which connect with the Sun often indicate individuals who will have a strong influence on the biography, which is certainly the case here, with asteroids representing his partner and all three attackers enmeshed in the Sun’s contacts. 

Ralph Hendrie had one point at station in his birth chart – asteroid Vilen, which at 9 Cancer turned direct a week before his birth, also trine the Sun, in a Grand Trine Kite pattern with Mitchella, the Brandia/Trevino conjunction at its String.  Remarkably, a second Kite is formed by Vilen’s opposition to asteroid Hendrie, incorporating the victim directly with two of the villains who ended his life.  That this would be the result of their interaction is seen in the traveling companions to Vilen:  namely, asteroid Anubis 18912 (named for the Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) at 7 Cancer and Requiem at 0 Cancer, both death indicators.

In and of itself, the early Cancer Vilen stellium has its own tale to tell, in a Grand Cross with Hendrie opposed, the crossbars formed by asteroids Skiff and Kathleen at 1 and 5 Aries, and asteroids George, Schiff and Vilain at 0, 6 and 7 Libra.  This unites the themes of bad actors (Vilen, Vilain) who cause the deaths (Requiem, Anubis) of Hendry (Hendrie) and his partner (Kathleen) on a seacraft (Skiff, Schiff).

yacht robertson
Suspect Trevon Robertson shows as asteroid Trevino, conjunct asteroids Villon, Vilen and Vincent for the hijacking; asteroid Trevino is stationary in Kathy Brandel’s chart, squared asteroid Vilain with Ixion (murder), Neptune (sea) and Saturn (death); and exactly conjoins asteroid Brandia (for Brandel), exactly opposed the Sun in Ralph Hendry’s chart

Asteroid Seagrave at 28 Aries leads off a string of points including asteroids Vincent, Atropos, Rone and Rip 7711 at 0, 3, 5 and 6 Taurus, opposed Mitchella at 9 Scorpio, in a Grand Cross with asteroid Ophelia 171 at 3 Aquarius and Uranus with asteroid Boattini, both at 3 Leo.  Rip acts as a death indicator in the form of the acronym “RIP,” “Rest In Peace,” a common tombstone inscription, while Ophelia is named for the tragic character in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” who drowns herself.  This pattern suggests that Ron Mitchell (Rone, Mitchella) may have been the leading agent in the hijacking of the yacht (Boattini) and the deaths (Rip, Atropos) of the couple off St Vincent (Vincent), perhaps by drowning (Ophelia), with the ocean their final resting place (Seagrave), in a shocking (Uranus) act.

Asteroid Villon, the last of our “villain” surrogates, is also active, appearing at 26 Taurus conjoined Mars (savage attacks, violent death) at 20 Taurus, in a T-Square with Pluto (modern lord of death, planetary ruler of criminal acts including homicide) at 28 Leo and asteroid Hera (partners) at 27 Aquarius with Mercury (newsworthy event) at 26 Aquarius.

Finally, to look at the day itself.  Again, we’ll be using the February 18th date for the prison break, as the only date certain, with the hijacking and presumed murders at some point in the next three days.

yacht st george
The hijacking occurred in the harbor of St George on Grenada; asteroid George appears in a Grand Cross with asteroids Saylor (sailor), Seagrave (“sea grave”) and Nemesis (ruin, destruction); George is also in a T-Square in Kathy Brandel’s chart, conjunct asteroids Kathy and Ralph, opposed Pluto (death, homicide) and squared asteroids Requiem (funeral mass) and Seagrave; and forms a Grand Cross in Ralph Hendry’s chart, conjunct asteroid Schiff (German for “ship”) and Vilain (villain), opposed asteroids Skiff and Kathleen, squared asteroids Hendrie, Vilen, Anubis (death) and Requiem

The Sun at 29 Aquarius conjoined Damocles at 0 Pisces and asteroid Requiem at 2 Pisces throws a spotlight (Sun) on the impending threat (Damocles) of death (Requiem) generally, while a square to an exact pairing of asteroids Schiff and Rip at 2 Sagittarius specifies death (Rip) on a seafaring vessel (Schiff).  A T-Square is formed with asteroid Boattini at 6 Gemini, reiterating the “small boat” theme.  Of course the solar grouping conjoins Kathy Brandel’s Sun, with her birthday just days away, with Requiem exactly conjunct, and also conjoins natal asteroid Hendrie at 27 Aquarius.  There is also a square to natal asteroids Vilen, Boattini and Lachesis at 26, 27 and 28 Taurus, symbolizing death (Lachesis) via a villain (Vilen) on a small boat (Boattini).  For Ralph Hendry, the stellium conjoins natal Hera (the partner) at 27 Aquarius and opposes natal Pluto (homicide) at 28 Leo, igniting a Grand Cross with natal Villon at 26 Taurus and natal asteroid Nemesis 128 at 28 Scorpio, representing ruin and destruction.

The Sun also opposes a transit Hendrie/Mitchella conjunction at 20 and 23 Leo (conjoined Brandel’s natal Pluto at 21 Leo), highlighting Ralph Hendry and his attacker, Ron Mitchell, who are in celestial proximity.  The solar contact is another indicator that Mitchell may have been the leader of the group.  The Leo points form a T-Square with a precise opposition from Uranus and asteroid Atropos, both at 19 Taurus, to asteroid Stanislav at 19 Scorpio.  This depicts an unexpected (Uranus) confrontation with mortality (Atropos) for Ralph Hendry (Hendrie), facilitated by Ron Mitchell (Mitchella) and Abita Stanislaus (Stanislav).

A Grand Cross lies loosely just out of orb with the T-Square, some points overlapping, comprised of asteroid Shipka at 1 Scorpio opposed Jupiter at 9 Taurus with asteroid Rone at 12 Taurus, and on the crossbars asteroids Brandia at 6 Aquarius with Ophelia at 12 Aquarius, and asteroid Vilain at 7 Leo.  This combines the yacht venue (Shipka) with one of the attackers (Rone, Vilain) and a victim (Brandia), possibly drowned (Ophelia), in an incident which achieves international fame (Jupiter).

yacht stanislaus
Suspect Abita Stanislaus shows as asteroid Abetti (closest to Abita) in a T-Square with Ixion (murder) and asteroids Villon, Vilen and Vincent for the hijacking; conjunct asteroids Kathy, Ralph, Hendrie and Karma in Kathy Brandel’s chart; and squared Ralph Hendry’s natal Sun

Other groupings fill gaps in the story or reiterate underlying themes.  A cluster of Neptune (the sea, sailing generally) at 26 Pisces with asteroids Villon at 0 Aries, Trevino at 1 Aries, and a Vilen/Vincent pairing at 3 Aries opposes asteroid Abetti at 5 Libra, in a T-Square with TNO Ixion at 5 Capricorn, suggests evil actors (Villon, Vilen) Trevon Robertson (Trevino) and Abita Stanislaus (Abetti) committing murder (Ixion) while sailing the ocean (Neptune) near St Vincent (Vincent).  Somewhat entangled with this is a Grand Cross of asteroid Karma at 10 Aries with asteroid George at 16 Aries and asteroid Roberts at 19 Aries, opposed asteroid Saylor at 12 Libra, the crossbars formed by asteroids Osiris, Nautilus and Seagrave at 9, 17 and 22 Capricorn, and asteroid Ralph exact with asteroid Sphinx 896 at 14 Aries.  This repeats the sailing/nautical theme (Saylor, Nautilus), linking an attacker (Roberts) and his victim (Ralph) in a likely fatal (Osiris) encounter initiated at St George (George) and resulting in disposal of the body in the water (Seagrave), in what may remain something of a mystery or riddle, unsolved (Sphinx).

Asteroid Kathleen at 10 Pisces conjoins Saturn at 8 Pisces, squared asteroid Skiff at 9 Sagittarius, prefiguring Brandel’s (Kathleen) death (Saturn) on a small seacraft (Skiff).  Asteroid Kathy at 23 Gemini is semisquare asteroid Vilain at 7 Leo.

Asteroid Henry at 26 Capricorn conjoins Seagrave and asteroid Anubis at 27 Capricorn, opposing asteroid Nemesis at 25 Cancer, in a T-Square with asteroid Lachesis at 28 Aries, showing Hendry (Henry) doubly linked to death (Anubis, Lachesis), destruction (Nemesis) and a watery final resting place (Seagrave).

yacht st vincent
The hijacked yacht “Simplicity” was recovered on St Vincent, with asteroid Vincent opposed asteroid Saylor, in a T-Square with Ixion (murder); asteroid Vincent appears in Kathy Brandel’s chart in a T-Square with Mars (attacks, violent death) and Ixion; and in Ralph Hendry’s chart conjunct asteroid Atropos (death), in a Grand Cross with Neptune (the sea), asteroids Boattini (small boat) and Ophelia (drowning)

Another truly fascinating (if also morbid and grotesque) study from the “As above, so below” case files of the Asteroid Sleuth.

Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, author of The Black Hole Book, detailing deep space points in astrological interpretation, and the forthcoming Heaven on Earth, a comprehensive study of asteroids, both mythic and personal. Alex is a frequent contributor to “The Mountain Astrologer”, “Daykeeper Journal”, and NCGR’s Journals and “Enews Commentary”; his work has also appeared in “Aspects” magazine, “Dell Horoscope”, “Planetwaves”, “Neptune Café” and “Sasstrology.” He is a past president of Philadelphia Astrological Society, and a former board member for the Philadelphia Chapter of NCGR.

2 comments, add yours.

Laurien

A great piece of asteroid detective work, Alex. What a horror. I hope the police can find enough terrestrial evidence to successfully prosecute the killers. Thanks Alex for demonstrating the potential usefulness of asteroids in solving crimes.

Charlotte

It will be interesting to follow the trial, when the various “villains” start pointing at each other and shuffling around the blame

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