Kirby Logan Archer

Kirby Logan Archer (born October 24, 1971) is an American murderer who was found adrift on September 24, 2007, in a lifeboat under suspicious circumstances.^[1][2] He later pleaded guilty to hijacking the fishing charter vessel, the Joe Cool, and participating in the murders of the vessel's crew.

On September 22, 2007, Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo chartered the Joe Cool, a 47-foot Miami-based fishing charter, asking to be transported to Bimini.^[1] After the vessel failed to return to Miami on schedule, a Coast Guard rescue operation was initiated, and the Joe Cool was eventually found adrift as a deserted ghost ship. Archer and Zarabozo were found nearby in the vessel's lifeboat, with their luggage—with no sign of the vessel's crew: Jake Branam, Kelley Branam, Scott Gamble, and Samuel Kairy.

Archer's account said that the vessel was hijacked and that the hijackers let him and Zarabozo go. Zarabozo initially gave a similar account (though he later changed his story, claiming that he was never aboard the Joe Cool and was charged with making a false statement to law enforcement officials as a result).^[1] However, investigators suspected that Archer had chartered the vessel in order to flee an Arkansas arrest warrant and seek asylum in Cuba, Zarabozo's native country.^[1] Archer had previously been stationed at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base while serving as a military police investigator in the United States Army.^[3]

Archer had previously worked as the customer service manager at an Arkansas Walmart,^[1][4] where he was accused of stealing $92,000. Before Arkansas law enforcement officials could arrest him for the alleged theft, Archer fled the state, resulting in the issuance of a fugitive warrant for his arrest. Archer, who was also facing allegations of sexual abuse against young boys in Arkansas (including his own children), made his way to Miami, where he hired the charter boat, paying cash to cover the $4,000 charge for the two-hour trip.^[4]

Archer and Zarabozo were formally charged with the murders of the four crew members during the hijacking of the Joe Cool charter boat on October 10, 2007.^[5][6] Prosecutors alleged that Archer hijacked the boat and headed for Cuba to escape the intensifying child molestation and theft investigations in Arkansas. In July 2008, Archer pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping, and hijacking.^[7][8] By pleading guilty, Archer avoided a possible death sentence. On October 14, 2008, Archer was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison.^[9][10]

Archer's co-defendant, Guillermo Zarabozo, was tried on the same charges of murder, robbery, kidnapping, hijacking, and weapons charges and was initially found guilty of firearms violations. However, the jury deadlocked on the piracy and murder counts, with some jury members believing Zarabozo's claims that the hijacking and murders had been planned and initiated by Archer without Zarabozo's knowledge. At his retrial, Zarabozo was found guilty on four murder charges on February 19, 2009.^[11] On May 7, he was given five life sentences plus 85 years.^[12][13]

Archer is serving his sentence at USP Lewisburg.^[14]

• Richard Blais (September 26, 2007). "USA v. Archer" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
• His Father Was a Murderer – This is His Story (Video). Azeal. November 3, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via YouTube.
• Kelley Branam, Jake Branam:‘Dark Waters Murder In The Deep episode "Hijacked"