Suspect arrested for murder of US missionary couple in Haiti

In Haiti, a suspect has been arrested in the brutal shooting deaths of the daughter and son-in-law of a Missouri politician and the head of a missionary organization they worked for, police said this week.

Bénicé Célestin, 52, was arrested this week in connection with the deadly May 23 ambush at the Missions in Haiti Inc. campus in northern Port-au-Prince, Haitian National Police said Wednesday, releasing a video of him in custody.

Missouri State Representative Ben Baker also announced the arrest in connection with the murder of his daughter Natalie Baker Lloyd, 21, and her husband Davy Lloyd, 23. Both were killed along with the director of Missions in Haiti Inc., Jude Montis, in the shootout by suspected gang members.

Célestin used the SIM card of Davy Lloyd's phone the day after the murders, local newspaper Vant Bèf Info reported, citing local authorities.

According to the police video, Célestin denied any involvement in the ambush.

Arrests in high-profile cases are rare in Haiti, but the video shared by police suggests that the investigation is ongoing.

Missions in Haiti Inc. was run by Davy Lloyd's parents. His father, David Lloyd, said Thursday he had not been informed of the circumstances of the arrest.

Natalie and Davy Lloyd lived as full-time missionaries in Haiti. They wanted to celebrate their second wedding anniversary in June.

“They loved the Haitian people and were devoted to this country,” David Lloyd said of his young son and daughter-in-law.

Natalie Lloyd regularly shared updates about the couple's life in Haiti on Instagram, including several photos of smiling children from the mission's children's home.

David Lloyd previously recalled his son calling him on the night of the attack to tell him that the gangs that had overrun most of Port-au-Prince had broken through the mission's gates and looted the grounds.

Davy, Natalie and Jude Montis sought shelter in the Lloyds' home, but gang members broke in and shot all three, the elder Lloyd explained.

About 100 gang members are said to have been involved in the ambush, said David Lloyd.

David Lloyd had traveled from Haiti to Oklahoma just one day before the attack, leaving his son and daughter-in-law behind to take care of the church, the children's home and the mission bakery.

The couple were confident they would be safe, despite the gang violence that has gripped much of the island nation since last winter.

The mission compound has been closed since the killings, marking the first time the operation has been suspended in 26 years, David Lloyd said this week.

The children have been relocated to a safer community, he added.

“There are too many gangs in the area,” he complained. “The whole country seems hopeless.”

Between January and May, more than 3,200 murders were reported in Haiti, and gang violence left more than half a million people homeless, according to the United Nations.

Violence escalated in February when gangs launched coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure, raided police stations and opened fire at the main international airport.

Gunmen also stormed Haiti's two largest prisons and freed thousands of inmates.

In June, a United Nations-backed police force from Kenya arrived in Haiti – nearly two years after the Haitian government requested the urgent deployment of foreign troops.

With post wires