Gambler extradition case delayed

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A professional poker player facing extradition to the US for the alleged murder of his wife has had his case adjourned until March.

Marcus Bebb-Jones, 46, from Kidderminster, is accused of killing his wife Sabrina in the US in 1997.

Mr Bebb-Jones' barrister Ben Cooper said he wanted to seek expert evidence on the "proportionality" of the minimum sentence his client could face.

He also wanted assurances his client would not face the death penalty.

Mr Bebb-Jones is accused of dumping his wife's body in a US national park and then spending her money during a "playboy" weekend in Las Vegas.

His wife's skull was not found until 2004.

'No death penalty'

Mr Cooper said that despite assurances from a prosecutor in the US state of Colorado that the death penalty would not be sought, he wanted an "express" guarantee from the US Department of Justice.

"He faces a minimum sentence of life without parole in Colorado but this is not yet fixed - he is also eligible for the death penalty," he said.

District Judge Nicholas Evans, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, said the case would return on 10 March.

He said: "This court is not going to extradite anyone who will face the death penalty. That's for sure."

He said Mr Bebb-Jones would remain in custody until 22 February for a video link appearance.

Mr Cooper said he also wanted to determine whether the minimum sentence if convicted - life without parole - would be "reducible".

He also indicated that if convicted Mr Bebb-Jones may apply to serve his sentence in the UK where he is the sole carer for the couple's 16-year-old son Daniel.

The professional gambler was arrested in a raid at his home in Kidderminster last year.

At a previous hearing, prosecutors representing the US government claimed the poker player had shot himself in the head in a bizarre sequence of events after allegedly killing his wife.

'Very strong'

An arrest warrant for Mr Bebb-Jones was issued by US authorities on 30 October 2009, Aaron Watkins, representing the US government, said.

Mr Watkins previously said the defendant took his wife to a national park in Colorado on 16 September 1997 and killed her.

"Thereafter he spun a number of stories which conflicted one another in order to explain her absence," he told the court.

"On the weekend following that incident it is said Mr Bebb-Jones went to Las Vegas and spent thousands of dollars, partially using credit cards in his wife's name.

"He lived a playboy lifestyle during the course of that weekend which culminated in him putting a gun in his mouth and shooting himself in the head.

"Whether by judgment or design, he did not cause any life-threatening injuries."

Mr Watkins said the case against the professional poker player was "very strong".

The court was told that Mr Bebb-Jones lived in the US for eight years but has since been in the UK for about 10 years.

Before the alleged murder, the couple ran the Hotel Melrose at Grand Junction, Colorado.