Italian media reports suspected murder on board MSC ship

«Uccisa in crociera a Genova». Fermato il marito

I misteri della moglie scomparsa dalla nave. L’avvocato: «Il marito non stava scappando»

The ship has been named as MSC Magnifica, which left Rome on 9 February. Investigators think that the husband may have killed his wife at the start of the cruise when the ship was near Genoa (throwing her body overboard), stayed on for the rest of the cruise, and then disembarked with his two kids on 20 February and tried to get on a flight back to Ireland. :eek: He was stopped at Ciampino airport.

What an absolutely appalling thing to happen. Her poor children and family - words fail me.

:O Just wow!

Wow is right.

Feel sorry for the kids.

Being reported in the newspapers in Ireland today.

Being reported in the newspapers in Ireland today.

Which paper? Maybe can do a google search!

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This is the latest from the solicitor to one of our newspapers

.......his lawyer Luigi Conti said that his client is completely denying he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance and said that there is a "perfectly good explanation" for what happened.

Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed ...... that he is only a resident in Ireland.

"the Department is aware of the case, however it is our understanding that the individual concerned is not an Irish citizen," a spokesperson said.

Donna sparita in crociera, i figli incastrano papà

Sparita in crociera, una donna: «L’ho vista a Genova, ma sulla nave non c’era più»

The boys are 6 and 4. One night they were told to stay in the cabin while mom & dad went out, later the father came back alone and for the rest of the cruise when they asked where their mother was, the father told them to be quiet.A shopkeeper in Genoa remembers seeing the family in his store, where the husband took a pair of gym shoes out of his backpack, threw them at his wife and yelled at her to put them on instead of her flip-flops and be quiet.

Another passenger remembers seeing the whole family on shore in Genoa but for the rest of the cruise, only the father and the kids, who were dirty, barefoot, and always sloppily dressed in the same clothes. :eek:

The man is apparently actually a German citizen, resident in Ireland (well, formerly).

This is horrible [emoji17]

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It proves you really can't go missing from a cruise ship without it being noticed. No consolation for the poor family of the victim involved, I know ..................

The latest on the story:

A man will appear before judges in Italy today charged with murder, after his wife disappeared from a luxury cruise.

Daniel Belling (45) was boarding a flight back to Dublin with his young children when he was stopped at Rome's Ciampino Airport on Tuesday night.

He and his Chinese wife Xing Lei Li, together with their two children, were on an 11-day cruise around the Mediterranean when she disappeared.

Mr Belling is a German who has been living and working in Dublin as an IT consultant, with clients understood to include Apple.

So sad!!

Found this news story:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/man-arrested-over-wife-s-murder-on-cruise-to-remain-in-custody-1.2989297

His version of events is that she was on board and everthing was fine until the ship left Malta (Day 4), then her mood changed and she said she was fed up with the ship and wanted to leave the cruise. The next day, Belling and the two kids went ashore in Katakolon, and when they came back to the ship, her suitcase was gone and they never saw her again.

Since she had apparently done this before (left them in the middle of a holiday), so Belling assumed she got off the ship in Katakolon and went home to Dublin, or maybe back to China, who knows. He wasn't overly concerned, asked the cabin steward to make the room up for 3 people, but did not notify anyone else on the ship.

Now the police have to check all the video from the ship to see if she really got off in Katakolon with her suitcase (seems pretty unlikely to me) and search for any trace of her onward travel from Katakolon.

If she turns up alive in Dublin or in China, I'll eat my chocolate ship.

There's a longer story with more detail here:

http://www.cruisemapper.com/news/2185-cruise-ship-murder-suspect-my-wife-is-still-alive

Still, the man is an IT professional yet Italian police would have us believe he didn't realize the ship's database would show an exception when she failed to disembark with her cruise card? That doesn't sound believable to me. Also, he didn't attempt to flee when he got off the ship, but went to the original flight he had scheduled when he booked his cruise. Either he is incredibly arrogant and not too bright or he is innocent.

I wonder what the possibility is that she somehow got off the ship with her suitcase and without checking out with her cruise card. Is it possible that somehow she obtained and used someone else's card that looks like her? Sounds like the plot of a novel, right?

Hopefully the ship's CCTV will show something.

Pretty crazy. Sounds like this strange couple (pictured in news article) had issues long before the mystery cruise incident.

The Dublin man charged with murdering his wife after she disappeared from a luxury cruise ran a fairytale-themed wedding planning business with her.

Daniel Belling's Chinese wife Xing Lei Li started Cinderella's Wedding in 2015 and offered a range of packages, including wedding dress rentals, flamboyant decor and photo album design.

The couple also had a range of podcasts on their website, which featured personal commentary on different tourism hotspots and festivals around Ireland, as well as cruises.

The two were themselves on an 11-day cruise around the Mediterranean with their two children when Ms Li, who was also known as Angie, disappeared.

Neighbours of the family in Clare Village, Malahide Road, told the Irish Independent that they often saw them drive in and out of the apartment complex in their Cinderella-styled car. They were described as "very odd".

Neighbour Lubos Pcola said that he once found Daniel (45) sleeping on the stairwell in his apartment complex.

He said: "A few months ago, a neighbour told me that there was a homeless man sleeping in the stairwell.

"When I went to investigate, I saw Daniel with blankets and everything around him. He told me everything was fine.

"I'm very shocked to hear that he got arrested - it's really crazy," he added.

Mr Belling, who is a German national, has been living and working in Dublin as an IT consultant.

The family's cruise began on February 9 in the port of Civitavecchia and took them to Malta, Greece and Cyprus.

When the luxury Magnifica cruise ship docked 10 days later, Mr Belling's wife was reported missing after crew members realised passenger details accounted for one less person.

He had allegedly failed to tell the ship's crew that his wife was not on board, a fact which aroused the suspicions of Italian police.

Mr Belling's lawyer, Luigi Conti, told the Irish Independent that his client is completely denying he had anything to do with his wife's disappearance and said that there is a "perfectly good explanation" for what happened.

Italian judges visited Mr Belling in his cell yesterday, where he was asked to give his version of events.

Ms Li previously appeared in court in Dublin, after having her front door broken down by gardaí when she refused to leave an apartment.

Dublin District Court heard there had been a dispute with the landlord over unpaid rent and because she was keeping pets, which was against the rules.

The couple had fallen behind in their rent when they both lost their jobs, the court was told.

They had just got married at the time of the case, which dated back to 2010.

Ms Li was prosecuted on a charge of burglary with intent to cause criminal damage.

But Judge Catherine Murphy dismissed the charge.

Irish Independent

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/murder-accused-ran-cinderella-wedding-business-with-wife-who-disappeared-from-cruise-35481223.html

The initial suspicions were that he killed her on the evening of Day 2 after the ship left Genoa. I don't know how they came up with that timing so quickly (it was already in the very first reports). He's saying she was still on board until Day 5. If she was really on board for those three extra days, people will have seen her, she should show up on videos from around the ship, and there should be records of her using her keycard (to open the cabin door). But I expect he will say that she mostly stayed in the room, and he was always the one who opened the door with his card, etc. etc. Up until the moment she somehow sneaked off the ship with her suitcase…

(On the other hand, if he killed her, what did he do with her stuff and her suitcase? Did they have a balcony cabin?)

Can I ask a procedural question about MSC?

We have only cruised on HAL and cannot understand how the wife could have got off the ship in Katakolon and not be noticed.

On HAL your ship card is scanned as you leave and scanned again as you reboard, thereby they know if all passengers have reboarded before they leave port.

Does MSC have a similar security measure?

Can I ask a procedural question about MSC?

We have only cruised on HAL and cannot understand how the wife could have got off the ship in Katakolon and not be noticed.

On HAL your ship card is scanned as you leave and scanned again as you reboard, thereby they know if all passengers have reboarded before they leave port.

Does MSC have a similar security measure?

Yes they do. Also, when we boarded the Divina and got our ship cards they took our picture. So when our card was scanned each time we got off and on the ship our picture pops up on their computer screen. The security person looked at our picture and us. If we had sunglasses on, we had to take them off so they could get a good look at us.

Yes they do. Also, when we boarded the Divina and got our ship cards they took our picture. So when our card was scanned each time we got off and on the ship our picture pops up on their computer screen. The security person looked at our picture and us. If we had sunglasses on, we had to take them off so they could get a good look at us.

Thank you. So, if the wife had left the ship at a port and not returned, then there would have been a tannoy request for her to check in with front desk/security or a phone call to the stateroom to check on her whereabouts. Or, she didn't leave the ship by way of a gangway.

Or, she didn't leave the ship by way of a gangway.

Most likely by the sound of it. BTW, security also requires you to remove your hat for ID purpose.

Thank you. So, if the wife had left the ship at a port and not returned, then there would have been a tannoy request for her to check in with front desk/security or a phone call to the stateroom to check on her whereabouts. Or, she didn't leave the ship by way of a gangway.

.. or maybe the husband may have confirmed with front desk that his wife is already onboard to avoid suspicion.

What a disturbing story.

I'm still concerned about the husband being the culprit. But Pam thinks that maybe she may have committed suicide after an argument with her husband.

.. or maybe the husband may have confirmed with front desk that his wife is already onboard to avoid suspicion.

But Pam thinks that maybe she may have committed suicide after an argument with her husband.

I found these articles from March 3:

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/dublin-based-dad-accused-killing-9955926

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/waitress-last-saw-dublin-based-couple-together-on-2nd-night-of-cruise-1.2997142