Michigan couple jailed for a month in Mexico fly home
Michigan couple jailed in Mexico return home
Paul and Christy Akeo had originally flown to Mexico for a vacation in Cancun. Instead they spent a month in jail amid a dispute with a hospitality company over a timeshare they're accused of not paying for.
(FOX 2) - The couple that had traveled to Mexico in hopes of vacationing before getting jailed amid a timeshare dispute have returned to the U.S.
Paul and Christy Akeo spent a month behind bars, despite claiming they owed nothing for the property.
Big picture view:
After weeks behind bars in a foreign jail, the Akeos are finally home.
Paul and Christy Akeo had originally flown to Mexico for a vacation in Cancun. Instead they spent a month in jail amid a dispute with a hospitality company over a timeshare they're accused of not paying for.
The Michigan couple were ushered home with the help of Congressman Tom Barrett, who flew to the country this week in hopes of getting them stateside.
Dig deeper:
Their daughter Lindsey Hull spoke to FOX 2 in late March about her incarcerated parents, pleading with officials to help rescue them.
"We need help from our government. We need them to realize there are two innocent Americans held hostage in a Mexican prison over a timeshare dispute," she said at the time.
Both Paul and Christy were jailed on March 4 on allegations of criminal fraud. They were locked up in a maximum security prison.
Both the parents and Barrett returned home late April 3.
Barrett said he walked through part of the facility, adding it was where "no person would want to be detained."
"No American should have to go through that, especially under the conditions that they were in for the amount of time that they were," he said Thursday night.
Michigan family jailed in Mexico over timeshare dispute
It has been an international nightmare for two American citizens who are stuck in a Mexican jail for a dispute over a time-share for 21 days.
What they're saying:
Paul Akeo described the conditions they were in as miserable.
"We were sent directly to prison. We weren't able to talk to anybody, didn't have any contact with lawyers, didn't have our phones so we were just sitting there," he said.
As for Christy Akeo, she's just happy to be home to get clean.
"I'm going to go take a shower. There were no showers there," she said. "And if you could take a shower, it was cold."
The Source: Previous reporting and interviews with Paul and Christy Akeo, and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett