Mexico jails former Survivor TV show producer for 12 years for wife's murder

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A Mexican court has sentenced a former producer of the US television show Survivor to 12 years in prison for murdering his wife in Cancun, but prosecutors may seek a harsher sentence.

Bruce Beresford-Redman, 43, was convicted on Thursday of killing Monica Burgos, 41, his Brazilian-born-wife of 11 years, at a beach resort during a family vacation in April 2010.

Her body was found in a septic tank at the resort, two days after her husband reported her missing during a vacation with their two children.

The chief prosecutor for Quintana Roo state, Gaspar Armando Garcia Torres, said the sentence was light and that he would review the ruling to decide whether to push for 50 years.

Beresford-Redman was also ordered to pay 43,000 pesos (S$3,860) in compensation.

The producer's lawyers said they will appeal the ruling on Friday, saying in a statement that the "the trial was plagued with irregularities" and the sentence was handed down without evidence against Beresford-Redman.

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