A Briton who reported his wife missing as the newlyweds’ catamaran sank off the Cuban coast has been arrested on suspicion of her murder after an FBI investigation.

Lewis Bennett, 41, was arrested on Tuesday, accused of the second degree murder of Isabella Hellmann, who he said had disappeared during the voyage in May.

Bennett, of Poole, Dorset, was taken into custody as he appeared in a Miami court where he was to be sentenced for smuggling stolen coins during the doomed trip.

Lewis Bennett was rescued alone
Lewis Bennett was rescued alone (Broward Sheriff’s Office/PA)

In a court document, FBI special agent James Kelley said the bureau believed Bennett “knowingly and unlawfully killed” the mother of his baby.

Bennett reported the 41-year-old missing in the early hours of May 15 in an SOS call as their 37ft catamaran was sinking as they sailed home to Delray Beach, Florida, from Havana.

He was rescued alone from a life raft and the search for Ms Hellmann was called off three days later.