TURKEY - George Smith, 26, missing from cruise ship, July 2005

[bertajo]

This mystery is interesting to me from a few different perspectives. First, because this potential crime occurred in a contained environment, investigators already have a small cluster of possible suspects based on the passengers aboard at the time that George was discovered missing. From a data management perspective, it seems as though it would be best to work from the approach of exclusion versus inclusion. If investigators are unable to figure out who did it, do they know who didn’t do it?

Second, if Jennifer was in the cabin from 4:47am when she was returned by security personnel until her massage at 10:00am, how did she not notice George’s absence, the blood, and general disarray of the room as reported by the media? I find this component quite boggling as most ladies have some routine in the morning regarding basic hygiene. I have a higher standard of care when going to massage appointments as I want to be as fresh as possible to truly enjoy the experience. (And, I don’t want some kind woman having to rub my unshaven legs!)

Third, I am curious as to whether a toxicology screening has been processed for both George and Jennifer because their collective behavior appears to be outside the norm for most honeymooners. There have been some statements regarding the use of absinthe which may have hallucinogenic properties. Could this be the explanation for her somewhat bizarre actions?

Finally, several reports state that the couple was holding a significant amount of cash, but I have not seen an actual amount printed. For someone to commit this seemingly random crime of opportunity, I would suspect that the party or parties involved had a sudden influx of cash to spend. Who spent the money, and where did it go?

Also, I am curious as to whether or not George’s shoes were inventoried following his disappearance. Was he intending to go somewhere?

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

This mystery is interesting to me from a few different perspectives. First, because this potential crime occurred in a contained environment, investigators already have a small cluster of possible suspects based on the passengers aboard at the time that George was discovered missing. From a data management perspective, it seems as though it would be best to work from the approach of exclusion versus inclusion. If investigators are unable to figure out who did it, do they know who didn’t do it?

Second, if Jennifer was in the cabin from 4:47am when she was returned by security personnel until her massage at 10:00am, how did she not notice George’s absence, the blood, and general disarray of the room as reported by the media? I find this component quite boggling as most ladies have some routine in the morning regarding basic hygiene. I have a higher standard of care when going to massage appointments as I want to be as fresh as possible to truly enjoy the experience. (And, I don’t want some kind woman having to rub my unshaven legs!)

Third, I am curious as to whether a toxicology screening has been processed for both George and Jennifer because their collective behavior appears to be outside the norm for most honeymooners. There have been some statements regarding the use of absinthe which may have hallucinogenic properties. Could this be the explanation for her somewhat bizarre actions?

Finally, several reports state that the couple was holding a significant amount of cash, but I have not seen an actual amount printed. For someone to commit this seemingly random crime of opportunity, I would suspect that the party or parties involved had a sudden influx of cash to spend. Who spent the money, and where did it go?

Also, I am curious as to whether or not George’s shoes were inventoried following his disappearance. Was he intending to go somewhere?

I can imagine one reason she didn't notice anything amiss in the cabin when she finally cae to--she was hung over like a dog.

I've had absinthe. It's really hard to get seriously messed up on it because it tastes like crap(think licorice and stewed rubber boots) and has to be seriously diluted before you can stand to drink it. Even then, it's nothing you can slam. If you don't dilute it, you vomit like no one's business because, hey, it's a wood based liquer and wormwood is poisonous. The hallucinogenic properties are somewhat overstated--I would compare it to the buzz from laughing gas as opposed to LSD or X--and the real danger of the drink comes from prolonged use, because it kinda eats holes in your brain after awhile. It also does serious liver damage, if you drink it a lot for years on end, but that's true of all alcohol. It's more likely her drink may have been spiked with Special K or even GBH.

 

[mysteriew]

Renowned forensic scientist Henry Lee said Thursday he will help try to solve the mystery of a Connecticut man who disappeared last summer while on a honeymoon cruise.

Lee said he was asked by the family of Jennifer Hagel-Smith to help them find out what happened to her husband, George Allen Smith IV of Greenwich. He vanished July 5 from a Royal Caribbean ship in the Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and Greece.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/5872291/detail.html

 

[IdahoMom]

I saw the wife on an interview a couple of months ago. I remember thinking, "something is not right with that woman". I understand that since they both drank so heavily, she can't remember chit. However, her affect was just way too flat when talking about her husband.

I completely agree! She needs to be looked at more closely, imo.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Witnesses Say Newlyweds Argued on Cruise
Man Disappeared From a Royal Caribbean Ship in the Mediterranean
STAMFORD, Conn. (Jan. 6) - A man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise last summer argued in the ship's bar with his wife, who kicked him in the groin hours before he vanished, two witnesses said Friday.

The witnesses told The Associated Press the FBI has interviewed them about the July 5 disappearance of George Allen Smith IV of Greenwich.

"I was very surprised by their behavior, that a honeymoon couple would act that way," said Margarita Chaves, a 29-year-old teacher from Phoenix.

More: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060106192109990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001

 

[nanandjim]

...A man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise last summer argued in the ship's bar with his wife, who kicked him in the groin hours before he vanished, two witnesses said Friday...

They sound like a pair of lovebirds, don't they?? :waitasec: Of course, she denies this behavior. However, one must give pause to the fact that she was passed out in a corridor, brought back to her room with husband missing. Then, she doesn't bat an eye and heads off for her massage appointment. After she is tracked down at the spa and asked about her missing husband, she is very nonchalant about it, stating that she didn't know that he was missing and that he may have spent the night in another cabin... Aaaahh...true love....

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

They sound like a pair of lovebirds, don't they?? :waitasec: Of course, she denies this behavior. However, one must give pause to the fact that she was passed out in a corridor, brought back to her room with husband missing. Then, she doesn't bat an eye and heads off for her massage appointment. After she is tracked down at the spa and asked about her missing husband, she is very nonchalant about it, stating that she didn't know that he was missing and that he may have spent the night in another cabin... Aaaahh...true love....

Sounds more and more like a beard to me.

 

[concernedperson]

Sounds more and more like a beard to me.

It is so screwy that I don't know what to say.

 

[nanandjim]

Sounds more and more like a beard to me.

What does this mean??

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

What does this mean??

"Beards" are slang for women who marry gay men so they can pass as straight.

 

[aussieblue]

"Beards" are slang for women who marry gay men so they can pass as straight.

I've thought this right from the get-go But didn't want to post it thinking I'd get flamed lol.

Honeymooners lol
She was just his beard.
He hung-out with a group of guys most of the trip and she flirted around.

When this first hit the news some of the passengers back then said in a media interview, they didn't even realise they were honeymooners because he was always with the young foreign guy and his friends. They also stated that one night while they were gambling she was yelling at him because she needed more money, she'd ran out. She wanted him to get her some BEFORE he left (he was leaving with his male friends). He left, then came back later with some money for her, then left again. She was there on her own. They said she didn't seem to care that she was on her own and that she happily drank and socialized with everyone.

Does this sound like a honeymoon to you lol

~aussieblue

PS The link to that article is somewhere on this board lol
Actually those articles that were written when he first went missing IMO really do point to a beard type situation. Some of those passenger interviews about how those 2 acted on the cruise, well i think even they think the same as me.

But in saying that I in no way believe this guy deserved what happened to him. He and his family deserves justice and IMO i believe they should be looking at his wife very closely.

 

[nanandjim]

"Beards" are slang for women who marry gay men so they can pass as straight.

Wow. That is an interesting angle. I never thought of it. That would make sense if he was sleeping in other cabins. Could he have been sleeping in other cabins with the guys??

Maybe, that is why he was hanging out with those guys. Could he have made a pass at one of them? Then, one of them pretended like he was "gay," too. George was bragging about all of the money that he had.

So, perhaps, he waited until George was good and drunk and went to his room with him. Instead of being a "date," he decided to rob George. Perhaps, that's why there was a fight and George ended up getting hurt and thrown overboard.

 

[SewingDeb]

Wow. That is an interesting angle. I never thought of it. That would make sense if he was sleeping in other cabins. Could he have been sleeping in other cabins with the guys??

Maybe, that is why he was hanging out with those guys. Could he have made a pass at one of them? Then, one of them pretended like he was "gay," too. George was bragging about all of the money that he had.

So, perhaps, he waited until George was good and drunk and went to his room with him. Instead of being a "date," he decided to rob George. Perhaps, that's why there was a fight and George ended up getting hurt and thrown overboard.

Good thinking! That's possible if it is true that the wife was a beard.

 

[mysteriew]

Cruise line records appear to indicate that the mystery of George A. Smith IV's disappearance can be narrowed down to a 43-minute time span.

For the six months since the Greenwich resident vanished from a honeymoon cruise on July 5 in the Mediterranean, the events around his disappearance could only be told in snippets, pieced together from recollections of passengers who heard mysterious sounds from his cabin and scant information released by the cruise line and Turkish authorities.

Last week, Royal Caribbean International released a partial account of what its logs show occurred in the minutes when Smith disappeared, probably falling into the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. His family thinks he may have been murdered, and the FBI is still investigating.
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/l...6518056.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines

In Cruise Case, A Supporting Role
Worker Rebuts Claim That No One Helped Wife After Man Vanished

Marie Breheret, a guest relations manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, had consoled grieving relatives of cruise ship passengers who died onboard of natural causes, but had never had to comfort a person whose spouse had disappeared from a ship. Until last July.

Breheret, 26, was called in minutes after officers of the Brilliance of the Seas located Jennifer Hagel Smith in the ship's spa to inform her that her husband, George Smith IV of Greenwich, was missing. Blood had been found in the couple's cabin, on the rail of their balcony and on a canopy over lifeboats beneath their balcony.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-marie0107.artjan07,0,3881594.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

 

[nanandjim]

Good thinking! That's possible if it is true that the wife was a beard.

Well, there is definitely something not right about the couple. Couples on their honeymoon are stuck together like Siamese twins (no disrespect intended).

Jennifer was passed out in the hall somewhere and wasn't phased in the least that her husband was nowhere to be found when she was wheeled back to her room.

Off she went to her spa appointment and still wasn't concerned when the ship personnel said that her husband was missing.

If my husband and I were on a cruise (and we are no newlyweds), I would not be passed out in a corridor somewhere, and I would definitely be concerned if my husband were spending the night in other cabins or did not show up in our room.

The ship personnel would not have to find me as I would have found them or they would have found me screaming my husband's name throughout the corridors of the ship.

 

[Sally]

If Jennifer didn't report him missing who did?

 

[nanandjim]

If Jennifer didn't report him missing who did?

It is my understanding that the blood on the awning was reported to the ship's personnel, and the cleaning people reported blood in the Smith's cabin. So, they were calling for the Smiths over the loudspeaker. Someone in the spa knew that Jennifer was there for her appointment (in fact, they got her in early as she was there at 8:30 am and her appt was at 10 am).

The spa person called the ship's captain and said that Jennifer was in the spa. They went there and asked her if she knew where her husband was and that he apparently was missing. She went on to say that he may be in someone else's cabin as he had spent other nights out....

 

[Sally]

Thanks nanandjim. I couldn't recall reading anywhere what spurred the search for him.

 

[BrendaStar]

She went on to say that he may be in someone else's cabin as he had spent other nights out....

Boy, this really says that this couple was a bunch of swingers. Or losers. :loser: :loser: Take your pick Your typical honeymoon???

 

[mysteriew]

Capt. Bill Wright, senior vice president of fleet operations for Royal Caribbean, said Tuesday that the investigation has found that four passengers escorted the Connecticut man back to his cabin on the night that he vanished.

According to Wright, George Allen Smith IV, of Greenwich, Conn., had met the passengers during the two-week cruise on a Royal Caribbean International ship.

Bloodstains were found running from the balcony of Smith's cabin to lifeboats after his July 5 disappearance. No one has been charged and no body has been recovered. The FBI is investigating.

"Just over an hour after understanding that George Smith was missing, the FBI in Miami and in Connecticut was involved, and was involved entirely after that," Wright said. "I put in myself numerous conference calls between the ship, our main office and the FBI in Connecticut. So, every step of the way, the FBI was involved. We had the Turkish police. They came onboard. They conducted a full forensic investigation."
http://www.local10.com/news/5983786/detail.html