Captain of Mike Lynch’s yacht 'under investigation for manslaughter'

26 August 2024, 18:32

The captain of the superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily last week, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, has been placed under investigation, Italian media reports.

Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Chef Recaldo Thomas, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday.

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

The group were picked up in a life raft by a nearby boat after firing a flare into the night sky.

Captain James Cutfiled, 51, is being investigated for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck over the incident.

Read more: Mike Lynch 'had concerns over killer nurse Lucy Letby's conviction' before billionaire died in Bayesian shipwreck

However, reports in Italy say this investigation does not imply the New Zealand-born captain is guilty.

Prosecutors in Termini Imerese have not commented on the reports, PA claims.

Chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio confirmed on Saturday that a manslaughter investigation into the sinking had been launched, but did not give any names.

Authorities have said they are now 'investigating shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable manslaughter' after the boat capsized off the coast near Palermo, Sicily, shortly before 5am on Monday.

The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynch's acquittal in a fraud case in the US. The businessman, who founded the software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion US dollar (£8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.

A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is "not on the agenda", but will be in the future, a spokesman from the Italian Coastguard has said.

This comes amid reports Mike Lynch 'held concerns about the killer nurse Lucy Letby's conviction' before he died aboard his £30m superyacht last week, a former Tory minister has said.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said that the late billionaire yacht owner was considering funding a British "Innocence Project" to look at the baby killer's case.

Letby, 34, was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court for murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

She has received 15 whole life orders following her convictions at Manchester Crown Court.

Mr Davis said Mr Lynch believed the prosecution case against Letby was weak in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Writing in the newspaper, the Tory bigwig said: "He raised the case of the Lucy Letby trial as one that had already caught his attention.

"Mike was a world-class expert on probability theory, and saw straight through the statistical weaknesses that underpinned the Letby prosecution."

Paying tribute to the late Mr Lynch, Mr Davis said: "The tragic death of Mike Lynch marks the end of an incredible life and the loss of a man whose name became synonymous with battling the injustices of the UK-US extradition treaty."