In the novel A Caribbean Mystery, Mr Rafiel is a very rich man. He met Jane Marple, while being on holiday in the Caribbean. He has a son called Michael and two daughters, one who died young and one who moved to America.
Portrayals
In the 1983 Warner Bros adaptation, Mr Rafiel is portrayed by Barnard Hughes.
In the BBC 1989 adaptation, Mr Rafiel is given the first name "Jason" and is portrayed by Donald Pleasance.
In the 2013 ITV adaptation, Mr Rafiel is portrayed by Anthony Sher. In this adaptation, he is a rich business man who deals with chemicals and fertilizers. He is less cranky than in other adaptations. He is impressed by Miss Marple's sharp observations and partners up with Miss Marple shortly after the death of Major Palgrave to prevent further killings. He goes with Miss Marple to see Inspector Daventry to persuade him to exhume the Major for example. Upset by the inspector's lack of interest, he tells Miss Marple that they would get to the bottom of the case themselves. In this adaptation he unwittingly contributes two motives for Tim Kendal to want to kill his wife. In the first place, he had secretly willed some money to Esther Walters--something which the snooping Jackson had discovered and had told Tim. Secondly, Rafiel had been trying to buy over the Golden Palms hotel because the land contained valuable guano deposits. Tim welcomed the opportunity but knew that Molly would never sell for sentimental reasons--the hotel had belonged to her parents.