Autopsies reveal cause of death of two Bayesian superyacht victims as probe into incident continues

3 September 2024, 10:39 | Updated: 3 September 2024, 10:40

Autopsies have revealed the cause of death of two victims on the Bayesian superyacht.

Seven people died after the superyacht sunk off the coast of Sicily last month, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah.

Of the 22 passengers and crew aboard the boat, 15 were rescued, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares.

The first autopsies were carried out on lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda on Monday, confirming that they drowned.

There were "no signs" of any other injuries, authorities said.

Autopsies on the other victims are set to continue for the rest of the week as police continue their probe into what happened.

Read more: Bayesian yacht captain claims he 'did everything he could' to save passengers and 'abandoned no one’ as he leaves Italy

Read more: Bayesian superyacht captain 'to leave Italy' after 'refusing to answer questions' as manslaughter probe continues

Post-mortem examinations are planned on Wednesday on the bodies of Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife Judy.

They are pending for the remaining three victims, Mr Lynch, who had organised the yacht trip to celebrate a recent legal victory, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and the yacht's cook, Recaldo Thomas.

Mr Thomas' body was the first to be recovered - he was the only member of staff that died in the incident.

Meanwhile, Mr Morvillo was one of Mr Lynch's US lawyers in a fraud case involving the sale in 2011 of Autonomy, a search engine company that became a symbol of British ingenuity, to Hewlett-Packard.

The 11 billion dollar (£8.3 billion) deal quickly turned sour over allegations Mr Lynch had cooked the books to overvalue Autonomy.

He was acquitted in June.

Prosecutors are investigating captain James Cutfield, 51, and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the sinking.

However, the investigations do not imply guilt or mean that formal charges will be brought against any of them.

Mr Cutfield's lawyers said last week that he had been "too shaken up" to answer questions from officials.

Aldo Mordiglia told the Times that he had “exercised his right to remain silent”.

An unnamed source close to the captain later told The Sun that he did "everything possible" to save those on board.

The 56-metre (184ft) British-flagged luxury yacht sank during what appeared to have been a sudden downburst or localised powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface.

Prosecutors said raising the Bayesian and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key elements to the investigation.