The engineer officer and deckhand are also being investigated for multiple murder and culpable sinking of the Bayesian along with James Cutfield, the captain, who is waiting for his passport to leave Italy.
Three people have become enlarged the suspect registry in the investigation of Bayesian sailboat wreckwhich sank last Monday during a storm off the coast of Porticello, in Palermo. Two more crew members They join the superyacht’s captain, James Cutfieldwhich until now was the only one investigated.
It is about the engineer officer Tim Parker Eaton, a british engineery Matthew Griffith, un french sailor 22-year-old who was on guard on the bridge. Like Cutfield, they are also being investigated for multiple murder and involuntary manslaughter.
The engineer officer was charged with do not activate security systems designed to close the ship’s hatches. This “forgetfulness” allegedly caused the engine room to flood, resulting in a blackout and the sinking of the ship. The deckhand on the bridge, for his part, supposedly did not warn in time of the approaching storm.
The inclusion in the registry of suspects is preparatory so that the Prosecutor’s Office can award the orders to perform autopsies on the bodies of the seven victimswhich continues to be delayed.
Theinvestigation into the shipwreckwas opened by the Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office to clarify the dynamics and responsibilities that led to the tragic sinking of the boat, which caused the death of seven people.
El fiscal jefe, Ambrogio Cartosiowho directs the investigationdeclared that his team will study all the possible elements of responsibilityincluding those of the captain, crew, supervising persons and the yacht builder.
Therefore, The list of suspects could be expanded in the coming hours. Starting with the the ship’s first officer, Tijs Koopman, a 33-year-old Dutchmanwho could go from person of interest to suspect.
Captain Cutfield waits to leave Italy
Until now, the only suspect was Captain James Cutfieldthat yesterday He availed himself of his right not to answer prosecutors’ questions.. However, she could not resist the emotion and burst into tears.
However, as he is not obliged to remain in Italy because the Prosecutor’s Office has not requested precautionary measures, he is waiting for They give you a copy of your passport so you can go to Mallorcawhere he lives with his wife, Cristina.
The commander had already given his version of the events and on Tuesday he was questioned for the third time by prosecutors, but “exercised his right to remain silent”said his lawyer Aldo Mordiglia. Along with him, Giovanni Rizzuti is also part of the legal team working on the defense strategy that will be adopted.
For the former captain of the sailboat, the cause of the sinking is the list
He former superyacht captain, Stephen Edwards, reconstructed in a post the possible dynamics of the sinking, stating that in those meteorological conditions “the ship went beyond its operational limits”.
The hypothesis of the sinking, according to him, lies in the 45-degree inclination that the ship would have assumed and that could have caused a flood, denying the possibility of there being an open hatch.
Also, for Cutfield, the blame of the shipwreck is the unexpected stormwhich experts call “waterspout” or “gale”. “No storm was forecast,” says Cutfiled, and Raffaele Macauda, commander of the Palermo Coast Guard, confirms it. There was only a yellow alert from Civil Protection for possible storms.
Who is James Cutfield, the Bayesian captain
Born in Auckland (New Zealand), James Cutfield, 50, had chosen the Mediterranean as your second home. His experience at sea began with a stint as a skipper, but the turning point in his career came in 2016, when he entered the world of luxury yachts.
The last one to hire him was Mike Lynch, who put him in charge of the Bayesian: a real gem 56 meters long and with a 75 meter mast, the second highest in the world.
ADVERTISINGAs a pattern, has browsedmany seasbut he has become especially fond of the Mediterranean. And it was precisely in that sea, which he knows like the back of his hand, where the tragedy occurred.
At his side are now his wife Cristina and his brother, who says: “We are in disbelief. James is a very experienced sailor, an elite sailor.” Cutfield, described as “depressed and desperate” by those who have seen him in recent days, he refuses, however, to be compared to Schettino, repeating that he did everything he could to save everyone and that at one point the water invaded the sailboat.
