Posted on 07/27/2005 11:19:53 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
STAMFORD, Conn. — The night a newlywed vanished from his honeymoon cruise, the sounds of a loud party were coming from his stateroom, followed by male voices arguing on the balcony and then a "horrific thud," a fellow passenger says.
The ship was in the Mediterranean Sea when Connecticut resident George Smith IV disappeared more than three weeks ago.
No one has been charged, but Connecticut's top federal prosecutor said Tuesday that the 26-year-old's disappearance is being aggressively investigated and reports of blood on the ship raise concerns. The comments are the first by a U.S. prosecutor on the case and the strongest indication yet that officials suspect foul play.
"We think the circumstances are unique enough and suspicious enough that a thorough investigation is warranted," U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor told The Associated Press.
O'Connor said investigators were still interviewing passengers and staff from the ship, and he declined to discuss details of the investigation.
Turkish prosecutor told the AP last week that Smith's new wife, Jennifer Hagel, was not suspected in her husband's disappearance.
The couple had been drinking and gambling at the ship's casino that night, the prosecutor said. The next morning, he said, Hagel woke up and went to the gym. Smith was reported missing after cleaners found blood in their cabin. There was also blood on the balcony and a hand print on the side of the ship, the prosecutor said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Clete Hyman, a passenger in a neighboring stateroom, described what he heard during the cruise in an interview Monday night on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country."
The night Smith disappeared, Hyman said he heard what sounded like a loud party in Smith's room, then "some very loud arguing out on the balcony."
He said he heard several male voices and then noises in the cabin that sounded like furniture being moved. Then, he said, he heard a "horrific thud."
O'Connor wouldn't comment Tuesday on Hyman's account.
Smith's and Hagel's families, who live in Connecticut, have not publicly commented and did not return phone messages.
Turkish authorities handled the case after the disappearance was reported July 5 when the ship docked at Kusadasi, a resort area in the Aegean region of Turkey. U.S. officials were given the case last week.
Interesting thread!
"He said that cruise ship employees are doing this to women, and it sounds as if it has happened more than a few times."
I read this yesterday. Happened years ago, but I never heard about these type of cruise ship occurences until now.
http://www.courttv.com/archive/verdicts/carnival.html
Jossy seems to lack credibility. I think they only use him because there IS no other news. Like all the other news orgs, when there's no news, they just make it up!
Yep. Now, the bride was already in the cabin sleeping, b/f the groom got back.
Gonna tell me, there was all this loud noise and maybe a fight going on & she slept through it? Then, knew nothing/thought nothing until morning? pleassse....
Must have been some booze, if she was sleeping that sound. But I've also heard they might have drugged her, or even both of them. If drugged, I can see her sleeping through anything.
He's playing MIND GAMES.....BIG TIME
to ALL that will listen.
Sheesh... I'm really beginning to wonder about some people that frequent this forum...
"Silence of his parents is deafining, isn't it?"
Yeah, I just don't understand it. Contrast it with Natalee? That's why I think they must learned something from her situation. Get your own people involved asap. But who knows?
In the stateroom?
Yes, they are wealthy and apparently,
were in a stateroom. On the top
deck.
That's the one. They warn you before the ride but I remember they warned us about Splash Mountain too and that wasn't anything. But Mission Space: beware: claustrophobia and 2G's. What a combination for the faint hearted.
More than one of us have made the connection between Joss and Baghdad Bob.
DJ, I'll tell you what I heard about the amount of blood that was on the overhang. Some medical expert over the weekend, can't remember now who, said that blood stain was 4 to 5 FEET long!
He said that was about a quart of blood that was out there, which would indicate, I think he said an artery had been cut or a head wound, and that the groom had been soaked in blood even before he landed out there.
That was too much blood for him to be faking his own disappearance. That was foul play, it sounds like.
Agreed.
Was watching Sean Hannity earlier tonight, he is in contact with some people in CT working on this investigation. Sean said he knows from them that this is not going in the direction of the bride being involved, but he couldn't say anything else about that.
Scarborough is coming up with some news from the husband's hometown.
Scarborough going to cover this in a few minutes. A passenger on the cruise said "that cruise was out of control."
Coming up in a few minutes, after commercials I think.
Ha! You beat me!
We're on it! One friend shares story.
Joe is asking for info/theories: email joe@msnbc.com.
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