Parents at Antigua victim's bedside

Benjamin Mullany, 31, is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot in an apparent botched robbery and may not be aware that his bride, Catherine Mullany, is dead.

The couple's parents, visibly distraught and upset, arrived at the Caribbean island's Holberton Hospital, accompanied by Antiguan officials, on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Mullany's parents, Marilyn and Cynlais, and his wife's parents, Rachel and David Bowen, clutched each other but said nothing to waiting reporters as they visited the hospital's intensive care unit, where doctors were assessing Mr Mullany's condition.

A nurse at the hospital's intensive care unit confirmed Mr Mullany was "critical", and that there had been no improvement.

Police said he was on life support after having suffered a fractured skull and a broken leg, but the hospital refused to comment on reports he is brain dead and in a coma after a bullet entered his neck and travelled up through his skull.

The two families also visited the Barnes funeral home where 31-year-old Mrs Mullany's body is being kept.

Antiguan detectives have interviewed several "persons of interest" but do not yet have a firm suspect for the shootings at the newlyweds' luxury resort and police have said there are no clear leads.

Police commissioner Gary Nelson, who was brought in from Canada to improve the troubled Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda earlier this year, said: "I don't want to get into the specifics of the investigation which might compromise what we are doing."

But he vowed that his 350-strong force was doing "everything to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."