Bayesian superyacht sinking: Banking boss and wife ‘suffocated to death in air bubble as oxygen ran out’
Italian prosecutors have placed the boat’s captain and two Britons who worked on the yacht under investigation for suspected multiple manslaughter and culpable shipwreck.
Judy and Jonathan Bloomer
Four people who died when a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, suffocated to death in an air bubble as oxygen ran out, according to Italian media.
Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were four of the seven people who died when the Bayesian superyacht sank last month.
They were on the trip with British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch to celebrate his acquittal of fraud charges in June in the US, when a violent storm hit.
Who was on superyacht that sank off Sicily?
Mr Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch, and the yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, died as well.
As the boat went down, Mr and Mrs Bloomer were said to have suffocated as oxygen ran out, and not drowned, La Repubblica reported.
Their post-mortems, along with those of Mr Morvillo and his wife, were said to have found no water in their lungs, suggesting they died as their cabins filled with carbon dioxide and ran out of oxygen.
Divers who recovered the bodies reportedly found them on the left side of cabins – which investigators believe showed them seeking the last pockets of air as the vessel tilted to the right after sinking.
There were no signs of injuries to the four victims examined so far, La Repubblica added.
Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, survived the sinking, along with 14 other people.
The remaining post-mortems, on Mr Lynch, his daughter, and Mr Thomas, will be carried out on Friday, reports added, and the superyacht is expected to be raised from the seabed as part of the investigation.
Italian prosecutors have placed the boat’s captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, and two Britons, engineer Tim Parker Eaton and crew member Matthew Griffiths, under investigation for suspected multiple manslaughter and culpable shipwreck.
Mr Parker Eaton reportedly denied allegations that external doors were left open on the night of the storm, allowing water to flood the engine room.
