Three men appeared in Magistrate's Court yesterday charged with the murder of an American visitor whose decomposed body was found near Dockyard last week.

Family and friends of the accused trio broke down as each of the men were accused of the murder of 41-year-old Stanley Lee.

Robert Blair Tucker, 33, of Pembroke, James Allan (Spooks) Dill, 54, of no fixed abode, and Terranz Sydney (Monster) Smith, 33, from Sandys, were charged with killing Mr. Lee on or around July 28.

His badly decomposed body was found by Police in bushes at Lagoon Park, Sandys, last Thursday morning after they received information from a member of the public.

Mr. Lee is understood to have been stabbed to death. His body was left in the secluded area and was not discovered for some weeks.

A Police spokesman said the deceased was identified by investigators on Sunday following extensive forensic examination, and said his family were notified soon after.

He also revealed that Mr. Lee had given the false name of Sean Russells to immigration officials when he arrived in Bermuda on July 6.

And, although the Police spokesman refused to say where in the US Mr. Lee was from, Police in Baltimore yesterday said that they had been contacted by detectives in Bermuda as it was believed he had flown to the Island from there.

Dill, Tucker, and Smith, of Somerset Road, were each flanked by plain clothes officers throughout the duration of the brief court hearing.

The three defendants had been taken the short distance from Hamilton Police Station to court in separate vans and were taken into the building through the back entrance.

They were not required to enter a plea, as Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves told them the matter will be tried in Supreme Court. The trio were remanded into custody to go before the court again August 29.

Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokumbo appeared for the Crown. Attorney Elizabeth Christopher appeared for Dill, lawyer Larry Scott for Tucker, and Smith was not represented.

An Oleander livery cycle was found in bushes close to Mr. Lee's body last Thursday, but it has still not been confirmed whether or not the bike had been hired by him.

Police spent last Sunday searching the waters off Watford Bridge for a murder weapon, and forensic anthropologist Dr. William Haglund was flown in from Seattle to help in the identification of the body, as well as the investigation.

Chief Insp. Earl Kirby is leading the investigation and anyone with information should call the Police Major Incident Room on 295-0011.