Italian Prosecutors Extend Investigation of Bayesian Superyacht Sinking to Include 2 Additional Crew Members
Authorities are investigating possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges against the engineer and sailor of the vessel.
Italian prosecutors have expanded their investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, which resulted in the tragic deaths of seven individuals, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter, according to their lawyer.
The ship’s captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, was placed under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges on Monday.
Since Wednesday, Tim Parker Eaton, the engineer responsible for securing the yacht’s engine room, and sailor Matthew Griffith, who was on watch duty on the night of the incident, have also been under investigation for the same potential charges, lawyer Mario Scopesi informed The Associated Press.
“The extent of their potential responsibilities is still unclear as the investigation is in its early stages,” Scopesi stated.
The bodies of Lynch, a Morgan Stanley executive, and five others, including Lynch’s daughter Hannah, were retrieved following the yacht’s sinking in Sicily on Aug. 19 after it capsized in a storm.
Investigation
Government prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio in the Italian town of Termini Imerese stated in an Aug. 24 press conference that his office had initiated an initial investigation into possible manslaughter.
“It is likely that offenses were committed, potentially leading to manslaughter charges, but we can only confirm that after a thorough investigation,” he said, noting that no suspects had been identified yet.
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Cutfield’s lawyer, Aldo Mordiglia, stated that he chose not to respond to prosecutors’ questions on Tuesday.
“He exercised his right to remain silent, which prosecutors might have anticipated,” Mordiglia informed The Associated Press, adding that Cutfield’s legal team had just been appointed and needed time to develop a defense.
Under Italian law, being under investigation does not imply guilt or automatically lead to criminal charges.
Undated image of Mike Lynch (R) and his daughter Hannah, who both died when the superyacht Bayesian sank off Sicily on Aug. 19, 2024. Family handout/PA Wire
Around 5 a.m. on Aug. 19, about an hour before sunrise, the Bayesian experienced violent winds. The Italian coast guard indicated that weather forecasts had predicted adverse conditions, but they were more severe than expected.
All crew members were rescued except for the chef, while six passengers became trapped in the hull.
Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company owning superyacht builder Perini Navi, told Sky News that the vessels’ design and keel make them “unsinkable bodies.”
Costantino stated in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that an “infinite chain of mistakes” led to the Bayesian’s sinking.
Mike Lynch
Lynch was the founder and former CEO of the software firm Autonomy. His wife, Angela Bacares, was the legal owner of the Bayesian.
Lynch had invited close friends and colleagues on a boating excursion to celebrate his acquittal in a California fraud case in June.
He had been acquitted of defrauding Hewlett-Packard following the sale of Autonomy, a software company he co-founded, to the U.S. computer giant in an $11 billion deal in 2011.
His co-defendant in the fraud trial, 52-year-old Stephen Chamberlain, passed away after being struck by a vehicle while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England, on Aug. 17. Chamberlain had also been exonerated of any wrongdoing in the trial.
Among those onboard the Bayesian were Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International Bank, his wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo—who was part of Lynch’s defense team during the trial—and his wife Neda.
All of them, along with Lynch and the boat’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, an Antiguan Canadian national, perished.
The Associated Press, Tom Ozimek, and Chris Summers contributed to this report.
