Smith disappearance still be investigated

[Tim,n,Sue]

When we cruised on the Brilliance we were told by the Concierge that their room on deck 10 was converted to a suite. Can anyone confirm? Also, the earlier reporting by the newspapers was that the hard liquor(150 proof) that they drank was brought on board by Russian mob members.

 

They were on deck 9 in 9062.

 

BTW. I always suspected Colonel Mustard in the Library with a candlestick.

[BillB48]

When we cruised on the Brilliance we were told by the Concierge that their room on deck 10 was converted to a suite. Can anyone confirm? Also, the earlier reporting by the newspapers was that the hard liquor(150 proof) that they drank was brought on board by Russian mob members.

 

 

Seems a little doubtful since that room on the Brilliance is still listed as an E1 Deluxe Ocean View with 184 sq ft. The JS have a square footage of around 290. Looks to me that if they made 9062 in a suite they would have to enlarge it a bit by combining another cabin. Just a guess as the deck plans look the same on other Radiance class ships:confused:.

[pjnj40]

In my opinion that I think Josh did try to kill him and throw him over. He kept using the 5th amendment to lots of question. Also why didn't the detective in the next cabin get the security involve to see if everything is ok and that point with all the thumping commotion in the wee hours. Also at the end when the wife didn't check to see if he ok before heading to the spa. This whole case is so weird and screwy that they will never find out.

[Cat54]

They were on deck 9 in 9062.

 

BTW. I always suspected Colonel Mustard in the Library with a candlestick.

 

We stayed in 9062 in June of 2010. The room is still a D2 with 204 sq feet of space.

 

No ghosts!!:)

[cathykb]

There was an update last night on Dateline NBC- it can probably be viewed online if interested. I fell asleep before the end.

[berwyn]

Yes, it is online.

[Starry Eyes]

I watched it online. It seems as if Josh's statements at the time do not necessarily match other witness's and he was quick to point the finger at an employee. Now that he knows there are cameras everywhere, he is taking the 5th. Interesting.

 

Both honeymooners seem to have been in bad shape. One has to wonder if it was just alcohol or if somebody slipped them a Mickey. Not that I have tried, but it would likely be easier to throw an essentially unconscious person overboard vs an conscious one. If the husband bragged about cash in his cabin, robbery seems a likely motive. I hope evenutually the FBI solves the case.

 

Now that we know the wife left the disco alone, was seen by staff turning the wrong way, was found passed out in a hallway, and was returned to her empty cabin in a wheelchair in the wee hours, it seems unlikely that she was involved in her husband's death. She was in no condition to worry about her husband when staff took her to her cabin. In the morning she may have reasonably thought her husband was already up or was sleeping it off elsewhere, so she went off for her spa appointment. I feel sad for her, especially if somebody tampered with her drinks. Gotta wonder.

[pspercy]

Split into four parts, "Overboard".

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/#45903148

[Ashland]

During this whole investigation "why" have the security hallway videos "never" been released by RCI ??.. And what happened to the record of all the roomservice ordered by the the other boys during this time frame ??..And how much money according to the wife was really in the safe and what about George's expensive Breitling watch ??..The wife was still too quick to settle and never would/will speak about the incident to George's family..Sadly this may never be explained.

[Starry Eyes]

During this whole investigation "why" have the security hallway videos "never" been released by RCI ??.. And what happened to the record of all the roomservice ordered by the the other boys during this time frame ??..And how much money according to the wife was really in the safe and what about George's expensive Breitling watch ??..The wife was still too quick to settle and never would/will speak about the incident to George's family..Sadly this may never be explained.

Have you watched the update? It has interesting info related to your concerns

Do you think RCCL has withheld the security videos and room service records from the FBI? Evidently the room service records were released recently..no record of an order or delivery to the young men of interest. I do not think the media yet has access to the security videos; I hope the FBI does. Josh is now taking the 5th...ya think he knows the videos conflict with his statements? evidently the wife was not supposed to discuss the details of her night during the investigation, but her whereabouts have now been released...she left the disco alone and passed out in a hallway alcove...gotta wonder if it was "just" booze or if she was drugged. How is anybody to know if the watch went overboard with George or if it was stolen? does it matter more that George bragged about cash in his safe vs the actual amount of cash? How long does a spouse have to wait to settle?

[Welovetokruze]

and folks wonder why RCI had a ban on carry on liquor. Doubt the truth will ever be known.

 

 

He and wife were drinking Absinth that night. It is Wormwood based and very, very bad stuff to drink. :eek:

[jamessemaj]

I watched the Dateline update last night and just saw the Smith couple and the 4 young men engaged in outrageous, boorish, unrestrained, drunken behavior. The young men were later put off the ship for alleged sexual assault.

 

Not that it matters, but my guess is that Smith accidentally fell over the balcony in a drunken state.

 

What outrages me is the settlement. RCCI owed these people nothing. The company was obviously held hostage by a scurrilous pr campaign. That $1 million to these barbarians is wrong, wrong, wrong. Ultimately, it is paid out of the pockets of civilized cruisers.

[B-52]

I watched the Dateline update last night and just saw the Smith couple and the 4 young men engaged in outrageous, boorish, unrestrained, drunken behavior. The young men were later put off the ship for alleged sexual assault.

 

Not that it matters, but my guess is that Smith accidentally fell over the balcony in a drunken state.

 

What outrages me is the settlement. RCCI owed these people nothing. The company was obviously held hostage by a scurrilous pr campaign. That $1 million to these barbarians is wrong, wrong, wrong. Ultimately, it is paid out of the pockets of civilized cruisers.

 

 

I agree. Again, not that it matters what I think, but if you are involved in a crime, a missing person on a cruise ship, robbery gone bad, you lay low. Not to bring attention to yourself.

These 4 young men, as bad as their behavior was, continued with it every night as tho they were not worried they would be implicated.

[bluegirlum]

We stayed in 9062 in June of 2010. The room is still a D2 with 204 sq feet of space.

 

No ghosts!!:)

 

Good to know! ;) I think i would have been fine staying in the room--not afraid or anything--but as I said, I would've been more annoyed by the people stopping by. Like they were suddenly going to discover the magic piece of evidence that solved it or something. :eek: I think we ended up in 9050 but I don't remember.

 

I imagine the folks who work on the ship are sick of hearing questions about it, so they make up stories about what happened to the cabin. I know I would.

[Starry Eyes]

I agree. Again, not that it matters what I think, but if you are involved in a crime, a missing person on a cruise ship, robbery gone bad, you lay low. Not to bring attention to yourself.

These 4 young men, as bad as their behavior was, continued with it every night as tho they were not worried they would be implicated.

A smart person might lay low, but evidently many criminals do dumb things. Anyway, since they were seen with the missing person, they were questioned by local authorities...might be hard to lay low with law enforcement asking questions. If one did not know there are so many cameras on ships, a guilty person might think they can fib about events and their whereabouts at the time in question. Once one hires a lawyer and realizes that actions in public areas can be tracked, one might then chose to take the 5th to avoid contradicting the original statement.

[Trainman-2]

I have trouble believing that anyone can accidentally fall over a balcony wall.

 

They are just too high!

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I'm thinking Lloyd the Casino Manager is involved as well and that's why RCI is hesitant to release more info.

 

The "new" picture, of the bloody hand prints on his balcony, was intriguing.

 

I also question the idea that there was no blood in the room, but clearly there was a bloody body print on the canopy. There had to be blood on George's body before he went over... I don't think hitting the canopy would cause that much of a stain unless he was already bloody. I'm no doctor or medical examiner so I could be wrong. Just my thoughts.

[mickey-mouse]

Does anyone think that somehow the bride could have somehow been involved as well? To me she didn't seem to be that upset for someone who had just lost their husband.

[gooselover]

Smileyperry, this is my thinking exactly. Since we now know there was SOME blood in the room, something must have taken place. And as you said, he HAD to have been bloody BEFORE he hit that canopy as otherwise there wouldn't be that much blood....so something happened in that room for him to be bloody.

 

Another concern I have is no one has ever mentioned what, if anything, was ever found in the safe. WAS there money? If so, was it all there? All that has ever been mentioned was that George was stating there was a large sum of money in there.

 

I found it interesting that some things in the Dateline story were omitted regarding Jennifer. In the original statement by her, it was found "odd" that when she awoke shortly after being found passed out at the other end of the ship, she got up and went down to her spa appt. The investigators had asked didn't you think it was odd that your husband wasn't there. Her reply was...oh, sometimes he spends the night in another cabin. HUH???????

 

I don't know about you all, but if I was their age and on my honeymoom, I am not sure I would take up with 5 younger single men or that my husband would. Don't you usually focus on your relationship? With that aside, here is what I believe may have happened.

 

The moving furniture around noise that the neighbor heard I believe may have been the three or four men knocking around George to try and get him to open the safe to get the money he has been bragging about. I think they rough him up some....the neighbor said he heard these noises, opened the door and saw three men going down the hall. He said all was quiet and then the loud thump. I think one man stayed behind to get rid of George after what they did. The thump being George getting tossed overboard. We all know the card is registered when it is swiped for anything while on a cruise...but there is nothing recorded when you just OPEN the door. This is when I think the fourth person left.

 

Again, George HAD to have been bloody BEFORE he fell, there is now proof of this...thus, the ONLY conclusion I can come to is that something/someone caused this bloodiness.

 

I do think Jennifer is involved, but not sure how. Her behavior the night of the crime and afterwards towards the family is not how most of us would behave. The statement that her new husband sometimes sleeps in another cabin is beyond odd.

[pjnj40]

i agree with you smiley. he must been bloody injured before hitting the canopy. There was nothing sharp near the area of the bloodstain. it look like an ordinary flat plank. Something must hit him hard in the chest or some other part of the body to show that blunt blood stain. I think his wife is involved so she can try to get the cash herself. Also why can't the RCL exposed what was going on in the hallways. I do believe that LLoyd was part of this because there was no record showing of room service. I am sure some FBI can find this clue and mystery.

[B-52]

The fact there was so much blood on the canopy and so little, if any in the room, does not equal out. There should have been blood traces everywhere in the room. I do not believe he was bloody before he went over.

 

I'm in the medical field.

 

Have you ever seen how much blood there is when someone lands on their head?

[mafig]

I have trouble believing that anyone can accidentally fall over a balcony wall.

 

They are just too high!

 

 

However, I recall reading that George liked to sit on the balcony railing while smoking a cigar. :eek:

[gelo7]

Same except for the fact I was on the ship when this happened

My guess, is that you will always remember that cruise.

[Starry Eyes]

The fact there was so much blood on the canopy and so little, if any in the room, does not equal out. There should have been blood traces everywhere in the room. I do not believe he was bloody before he went over.

 

I'm in the medical field.

 

Have you ever seen how much blood there is when someone lands on their head?

 

I agree....A fall of over two stories to a horizontal surface could easily yield that much blood...or more. I am also in the medical field.

[gcuecruise]

The moving furniture around noise that the neighbor heard I believe may have been the three or four men knocking around George to try and get him to open the safe to get the money he has been bragging about. I think they rough him up some....the neighbor said he heard these noises, opened the door and saw three men going down the hall. He said all was quiet and then the loud thump. I think one man stayed behind to get rid of George after what they did. The thump being George getting tossed overboard. We all know the card is registered when it is swiped for anything while on a cruise...but there is nothing recorded when you just OPEN the door. This is when I think the fourth person left.

 

If this is the case, you would think the security tapes would give the FBI a strong case against the fourth person. Maybe those tapes do suggest that but also show something RCI didn't want known.

 

Another question I have is is the life boat canopy that the body hit really a canopy (soft?), as opposed to a hard surface? I always thought those lifeboats were solidly enclosed. But maybe not on the BOS? If he fell two decks it could have been almost 20 feet. Hitting say head first on a hard surface could certainly induce blood. Maybe the body stayed there for a bit before falling off giving time for more blood to be involved. If he was signifcnatly bloody before being tossed or falling then there should have been more evidence of blood in the cabin or on the balcony/rail, etc.

 

I saw the Dateline episode on Friday. Since there was a lot of noise and then a few minutes of silence before the earwitness heard the loud thud, it certainly seems like he was either thrown over or he stood up on the rail in a drunken stupor and fell. Whether one is more logical than the other to us is up to opinion. Again, it seems the security tapes timed with the earwitness should be giving the FBI some serious evidence.

 

So why have the security tapes not been turned over? Because it is not under FBI jurisdication?