Table Of Content
"I have no comment. Please contact my lawyer and then we can arrange a time to speak," he replied. A source close to the investigation has told CBS News that on the tape, one of the men -- Rusty Kofman -- refers to George going parachute riding off his balcony. Royal Caribbean had had enough and rounded up all of the young men and their families for a tense meeting with the ship's lawyer.
George Smith's family turns to Facebook for answers - Greenwich Time
George Smith's family turns to Facebook for answers.
Posted: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 07:00:00 GMT [source]
FBI closes probe of vanished cruise ship honeymooner
"Hung out with them a little bit, nothing too in depth. ... Jennifer played a little blackjack. I played a little craps with George," Askin said. "There were a lot of other people around as well, who'd been on the cruise so far." Around midnight on July 5, 2005, the two couples headed for the casino. "He didn't have a good tolerance for alcohol. He would have like four beers ... and you could see that he was pretty much drunk," Galina added. "I was overwhelmed with her because she had this dynamic personality," Maureen explained. "She was very fun-loving like him. Very attractive. ... And he was really happy with her."
'48 Hours' Preview: Murder At Sea? George Smith Case Revisited
As a group, the men told Turkish police, "And that was the end of it. ... We were all together ... But just remember not at one point or at no time did he ever seem angry or anything at all." The men claimed that after a night of partying, they had tucked George into bed and left his cabin. Another passenger reported the noise disturbance to the ship’s guest relation’s desk just after 4 a.m., but the ship’s crew did not respond until nearly half an hour later. Had they responded in time, perhaps Smith would be alive today. In the appeal, Smith's parents and sister said his widow agreed to an inadequate settlement with the cruise ship line to avoid embarrassing disclosures about her conduct. The Smith family has recently announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for his disappearance.
Passengers Interviewed
At the time, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident -- theorizing that an intoxicated George sat on the railing and simply fell off. But a 48 hours investigation has uncovered questionable alibis, failed polygraphs and new details about a provocative video made by three of the men. The story of George Smith's last hours began with a shipboard police interview. Maureen and George Smith have grieved for nearly eight years, ever since their 26-year-old son George vanished on his honeymoon cruise "Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas" in the Aegean Sea. Is made up of attorneys who are nationally recognized industry leaders in the field of maritime and admiralty law.
Smith was never seen again and the mystery of how he went overboard has never been solved. "But the really-- sort of, incriminating statement is one of them stands up at the end of the tape and sorta hunches his shoulders and flashes gang signs and says, 'Told ya I was gangsta,'" Jones explained. "And that's in the context of the discussion about George's death, almost as if he's bragging about having done something to George." The four men and their families were then removed from the ship in Naples, where Italian police looked into the rape allegation and washed their hands of it saying they had no jurisdiction. No one has ever been charged in the sexual incident and lawyers for the men believe the tape saved them. The FBI would begin an investigation that would span nine-and-a-half years.
Remembering Erin Gilmour
"They loved the sites. I remember they were talking a lot of pictures. Like, everywhere they went they were, like, always with the camera," Galina recalled. Maureen Smith described her son as a "Fine young man. Handsome ... Hard working. He was just an all-around great kid." He said that there was only a "spec" of blood found in the cabin, and that what was originally believed to be blood on a towel turned out to be makeup. Hagel Smith has received numerous documents, including cabin access records and statements made to investigators, Sheeley said.
Tomorrow will be the nine year anniversary of the disappearance of George Smith from the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas during his honeymoon cruise. Over the last five years, my wife and I have celebrated 10 birthdays of our two sons who are now 13 and 15 years old. My boys have grown from third and fifth grade kids to young men entering eighth and tenth grade, over the course of the Smith familiy’s nightmare. Yesterday, the Connecticut Post published a story about George’s disappearance and the issues left unresolved following his death. And these men were working when their lives were taken, with no hint that they were negligent for drinking or poor judgment or any fault of their own. They were blown up by the malfeasance of the rig owner and operators.
The Smith's Cabin
That arguing, Jones believes, is what ear-witness Clete Hyman heard on the balcony. "And this got around because there were other passengers not within the circle of the Russians and Josh who heard the rumors about the money in the cabin. We don't believe it was true, but perception is everything," said Jones. "There's a statement made on videotape where you say George went parachute riding off his balcony," Miller confronted Kofman.
Remembering Joy Hibbs
Hagel Smith did not want to disclose her husband's use of prescription drugs, but was forced to do so because of his family's "relentless" litigation, Sheeley said. Hagel Smith is not saying the prescription drugs and alcohol caused her husband's death, Sheeley said. CBS will air an updated story of the efforts of Mr. Smith’s family tomorrow night on 48 HOURS. There is not a day that goes by that I forget how blessed I am to have my boys alive and healthy, and my family intact.
Our team of cruise lawyers has well over two centuries of combined experience, has successfully handled over 3,000 cases, and has recovered over 300 million dollars in damages for our clients. Several of our attorneys have even been selected to “Best Lawyers” ® by US News & World Report every year as far back as 2016. Mr. Smith went overboard from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship on July 5, 2005 as the ship was sailing to Turkey.
"And one of them stays behind, starts to rifle through the drawers and the cabinets," said Jones. Jones believes that perception fueled a robbery attempt -- one that was hatched when they put George to bed and Askin had gone into the bathroom. Lawyers for Zach Rozenberg and Rusty Kofman declined to comment on the video. Just a few days ago, "48 Hours" tried to see if Kofman himself could provide any more answers. "They were dropping F-bombs on the room service people," said Jones. Royal Caribbean documents show complaints were made against some of the men for smoking, sneaking liquor and verbally abusing ship employees.
“They claim they just left the room, but the evidence revealed afterward was that it was an attempted robbery gone wrong,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, there’s a possibility that we may never find out now what happened to George,” Attorney Mike Jones, who represent’s Smith’s family, said.
Sadly, he isn’t the only cruise ship passenger whose case remains unsolved. Hundreds of passengers have gone missing from cruise ships and nothing has been done to give the victims’ loved ones justice or peace of mind. Were Dr. K to be correct in his analysis, this act of foul play might then be laid at the feet of one of the last three or four men to be in Smith’s cabin with him. At the assumed time of George Smith’s death his wife was lying unconscious on the same deck, but half way around the ship, apparently having become lost on her way back to her cabin. Inexplicably, she was curled up in a dead-end hallway on the 9th deck.
Mike Jones believes there is finally enough evidence to piece it all together. "Josh walks into the room and there's one of the Russian boys having sex on the bed with the girl and another one of the boys filming it. And Josh was concerned," Greer explained. "It became clear to him very quickly that the boys weren't ... taking advantage of her. The girl was taking advantage of the boys." And two days after George Smith went overboard, an 18-year-old passenger came forward with a major allegation of sexual assault.
"And one of them stays behind, starts to rifle through the drawers and the cabinets," he said. "George and Jennifer dressed well. George had a very expensive Breitling watch. They, sort of, flashed the money at the -- in the casino." "There's a lotta evidence to suggest that that was not as simple as -- as the Russian men and as Josh have said," Jones said. "You know, they ordered so much food, and they couldn't have killed George because they were in the room eating the room service," Jones told "48 Hours". "What it's not about is an accident, and what it's not about is a suicide," Jones told "48 Hours". Jennifer said she had almost no memory after leaving the casino.
Josh Askin's lawyer, Keith Greer, argues that it could have been an oversight in the hand-written documentation. In 2010, Mike Jones got his hands on Royal Caribbean's case file. Room service records do not show any order being delivered to the men last seen with George Smith that night. The FBI has been investigating George Smith's disappearance for almost eight years, but it has gone nowhere. Mike Jones, an attorney hired by the Smiths, is trying to move the case forward. On July 4, 2005, George and Jennifer Smith spent the day touring Mykonos, Greece.
No comments:
Post a Comment