Would be intertesting to learn more about the facts. If the guy simply disappeared, there is nothing to support a negligence/liability claim against the cruise line. People don’t simply fall overboard for no reason. There are really only three possibilities:
1. suicide
2. he was doing something stupid and fell.
3. somebody “helped” him.
The settlement amount suggests an economic buyout to quash bad publicity and mitigate defense costs.
“***when he vanished somewhere between Greece and Turkey. He was reported missing July 5 when the ship docked at Kusadasi***”
so, let me see, he vanished between these 2 points. was there a port call in-between these 2 points? was he seen/recorded onboard after greece portcall? what’s to say he’s sitting in europe waiting on her to show up with the money? why is it the cruise line’s responsibility if he had fallen overboard? afterall, he was reported missing at the turkish portcall. why not sooner? i think there is something strange considering, i would be looking for my wife. afterall, it was a cruise for the married couple – it did not say 2 single folks. sounds like a whale of a story with a huge payout.
I agree – I’d love to know more. I wonder on what basis the settlement was made. On the face of it, there is no suggestion of negligence or liability. I suspect the parents didn’t want the settlement to go through because they’re still hoping their son will show up. How long is it in the U.S. before a missing person is presumed dead? In Canada, it’s 7 years!
Something else I just noticed… they were on a honeymoon cruise and yet she was already the administrator of his estate? I have to agree with wudchuck, either they’re in this together, he killed himself, or she chucked him over the side. If he committed suicide, why is that the ship’s fault and why does she deserve money for it?
Don’t any of you remember when this was a big news item? There was an investigation and there were some mysterious clues such as bloody towels and other items in the stateroom. The whole thing was under quite a cloud during the news reportage, but obviously it’s died down by now and this settlement is a mere afterthought, which I believe is how the cruise line would prefer it.
clm mgr has it correct. The cruise line bypassed the headline-grabbing parents and sister (also an attorney) and made settlement with the grieving widow (of five days). She was the legal administratix of the estate and in settling, they shut down all additional litigation against the cruise line.
Case closed. Widow – one
Parents – zero
Cruise line – grand slam.
Wes
The story, as I recall, was that both Mr. & Mrs. Smith had a lot to drink. Mr. Smith befriended some men who accompanied him to his cabin while his wife was elsewhere. Speculation was that he may have been assaulted or murdered by these men (with or without the knowledge of his wife). He may have committed suicide or accidentally fell overboard. If you can’t prove murder then certainly his drunken state contributed significantly to the other possibilities. If you sold him the liquor, $1 million plus seems like a reasonable solution to the dilema.
Interestingly, the Smiths smuggled a great deal of their own contraband liquor onto the ship. But as with hand grenades and horseshoes, being close really counts – Ms. Smith was found passed out on the other side of the ship when her husband fell or was tossed overboard from their suite balcony. (Witnesses heard yelling, a loud thump and blood was discovered on a lifeboat beneath the balcony.)
What is “creepy” is the fact that cruise lines still are not obliged to report crimes that occur on board. As a result, there are no accurate statistics on the crimes that occur – like rape and disappearances. I agree with Wes that this one was a big win for the cruise lines. Even the hearings last year by the U.S. House Transportation maritime subcommittee, where cruise ship crime victims recounted “horror stories of inept investigations and injustice”, according to media reports, seems to have gained little in the way of oversight. This seems to be mainly because, as one report stated, “many crimes are committed on cruises while the ships are traveling outside the 20-kilometre-wide U.S. territorial limits. The vast majority of ships fly under foreign flags, such as the Bahamas or Panama, and therefore aren’t under U.S. jurisdiction once they leave U.S. waters. What’s more, U.S. authorities can’t often board the ships without permission.” And, “… Rep. Doris Matsui… contended that some cruise lines have been misleading in disclosing crime data. She said cruise industry executives testified to Congress last year that Royal Caribbean reported 66 cases of sexual assault between 2003 and 2005. Documents released in connection with a civil lawsuit show that number was actually much higher, over 250, Matsui said.” Makes one wonder what else they are hiding…
So why would the man’s parents object to this? Unless they think the new wife pushed him overboard to collect… sounds pretty fishy to me.
I’m sure her middle name isn’t “Hagel” which means she kept her maiden name for a reason. Creepier!
Would be intertesting to learn more about the facts. If the guy simply disappeared, there is nothing to support a negligence/liability claim against the cruise line. People don’t simply fall overboard for no reason. There are really only three possibilities:
1. suicide
2. he was doing something stupid and fell.
3. somebody “helped” him.
The settlement amount suggests an economic buyout to quash bad publicity and mitigate defense costs.
“***when he vanished somewhere between Greece and Turkey. He was reported missing July 5 when the ship docked at Kusadasi***”
so, let me see, he vanished between these 2 points. was there a port call in-between these 2 points? was he seen/recorded onboard after greece portcall? what’s to say he’s sitting in europe waiting on her to show up with the money? why is it the cruise line’s responsibility if he had fallen overboard? afterall, he was reported missing at the turkish portcall. why not sooner? i think there is something strange considering, i would be looking for my wife. afterall, it was a cruise for the married couple – it did not say 2 single folks. sounds like a whale of a story with a huge payout.
I agree – I’d love to know more. I wonder on what basis the settlement was made. On the face of it, there is no suggestion of negligence or liability. I suspect the parents didn’t want the settlement to go through because they’re still hoping their son will show up. How long is it in the U.S. before a missing person is presumed dead? In Canada, it’s 7 years!
Something else I just noticed… they were on a honeymoon cruise and yet she was already the administrator of his estate? I have to agree with wudchuck, either they’re in this together, he killed himself, or she chucked him over the side. If he committed suicide, why is that the ship’s fault and why does she deserve money for it?
How do we know he didn’t WANT to be lost. There is such a thing as cold feet.
Don’t any of you remember when this was a big news item? There was an investigation and there were some mysterious clues such as bloody towels and other items in the stateroom. The whole thing was under quite a cloud during the news reportage, but obviously it’s died down by now and this settlement is a mere afterthought, which I believe is how the cruise line would prefer it.
Maybe she nagged him to death and then tossed him over.
Or she nagged him to death and he realized how badly he screwed up and tossed himself over.
That’s quite funny! Maybe he met a local person that he wanted to be with instead and made himself disappear.
clm mgr has it correct. The cruise line bypassed the headline-grabbing parents and sister (also an attorney) and made settlement with the grieving widow (of five days). She was the legal administratix of the estate and in settling, they shut down all additional litigation against the cruise line.
Case closed. Widow – one
Parents – zero
Cruise line – grand slam.
Wes
The story, as I recall, was that both Mr. & Mrs. Smith had a lot to drink. Mr. Smith befriended some men who accompanied him to his cabin while his wife was elsewhere. Speculation was that he may have been assaulted or murdered by these men (with or without the knowledge of his wife). He may have committed suicide or accidentally fell overboard. If you can’t prove murder then certainly his drunken state contributed significantly to the other possibilities. If you sold him the liquor, $1 million plus seems like a reasonable solution to the dilema.
Interestingly, the Smiths smuggled a great deal of their own contraband liquor onto the ship. But as with hand grenades and horseshoes, being close really counts – Ms. Smith was found passed out on the other side of the ship when her husband fell or was tossed overboard from their suite balcony. (Witnesses heard yelling, a loud thump and blood was discovered on a lifeboat beneath the balcony.)
So, AA, only a murderess would keep her “maiden” name? Wow.
What is “creepy” is the fact that cruise lines still are not obliged to report crimes that occur on board. As a result, there are no accurate statistics on the crimes that occur – like rape and disappearances. I agree with Wes that this one was a big win for the cruise lines. Even the hearings last year by the U.S. House Transportation maritime subcommittee, where cruise ship crime victims recounted “horror stories of inept investigations and injustice”, according to media reports, seems to have gained little in the way of oversight. This seems to be mainly because, as one report stated, “many crimes are committed on cruises while the ships are traveling outside the 20-kilometre-wide U.S. territorial limits. The vast majority of ships fly under foreign flags, such as the Bahamas or Panama, and therefore aren’t under U.S. jurisdiction once they leave U.S. waters. What’s more, U.S. authorities can’t often board the ships without permission.” And, “… Rep. Doris Matsui… contended that some cruise lines have been misleading in disclosing crime data. She said cruise industry executives testified to Congress last year that Royal Caribbean reported 66 cases of sexual assault between 2003 and 2005. Documents released in connection with a civil lawsuit show that number was actually much higher, over 250, Matsui said.” Makes one wonder what else they are hiding…