LOS ANGELES ? A judge on Tuesday ordered a reality TV producer to be returned to Mexico to face a charge that he killed his wife while on a family vacation 15 months ago.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian issued her ruling after a nearly two-hour extradition hearing in Los Angeles.
Bruce Beresford-Redman has been jailed since November on a fugitive warrant issued after Mexican authorities in Cancun charged him with the aggravated homicide of his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman.
He could face between 12 and 30 years in prison if convicted.
The former "Survivor" producer can appeal the ruling, and federal prosecutors said it could be at least a year before he is sent to Mexico if he pursues all his U.S. appeals.
Beresford-Redman did not react during the hearing. He appeared in court in a jail jumpsuit and was shackled throughout the hearing.
His attorney, Richard Hirsch, argued there were major inconsistencies in the evidence, and extradition should be rejected. Chooljian, however, said she made her ruling after considering the totality of the evidence and that there was probable cause that Beresford-Redman killed his wife.
His attorneys have said he is innocent and challenged the case against him, calling it a rush to judgment.
Monica Beresford-Redman's body was found in a sewer cistern at an upscale Cancun resort in April 2010.
Alison Triessl, an attorney for her family, said the victim's sisters were happy with the result but realize it is another step in a long process.
"They know there will probably be appeal after appeal," Triessl said. "It's an important day for justice. It's an important day so they can rebuild their lives."
Monica Beresford-Redman owned a popular Brazilian-themed restaurant in Los Angeles.
Chooljian's ruling came after defense lawyers withdrew a request to call as a witness the 6-year-old daughter of Bruce Beresford-Redman amid unspecified concerns about the girl's ability to testify in defense of her father.
After months of attempting to discredit Mexican authorities and attacking the case, Beresford-Redman made another attempt Tuesday to persuade the magistrate judge that he should be freed.
The couple had gone on the trip to try to repair their marriage, which had been damaged by an affair Bruce Beresford-Redman had with a co-worker.
His attorneys claim Mexican authorities rushed to judgment and built a case accusing Bruce Beresford-Redman based on motive rather than physical evidence.
Calling the couple's 6-year-old daughter to testify during the hearing could have been problematic.
Witnesses are not generally called during extradition proceedings, and calling a child witness might have presented issues of who would question the girl and whether her testimony should be conducted in a closed session.
Statements filed by her therapist and one of Bruce Beresford-Redman's attorneys suggested the girl would have testified that she never saw her father act violently toward her mother during the Cancun vacation.
The girl also told the therapist and attorney that she recalled her mother leaving the hotel room to go shopping on the day she went missing.
The defendants attorneys argue that the producer had no obligation to remain in Cancun while his wife's death was investigated, although federal prosecutors and Mexican authorities both say his return to Los Angeles was illegal and should count against him in the extradition proceeding.
Prosecutors say there is overwhelming evidence against the producer that justifies his being sent to Mexico. In court filings, they cite a resort worker's recollection that he saw someone matching Bruce Beresford-Redman's description attempting to strike a woman during an argument at the hotel.
They also point to a noise complaint from tourists in another room that cited screams that appeared to be coming from a woman in distress coming from the Beresford-Redmans' hotel room.
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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/celebritydocket
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